Big Ray's Cherry Rhubarb Coffee Bars

Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Servings: 18
Yield: 18 servings

Description

These cherry-rhubarb bars are a cross between coffee cake and dessert bar and are a delightful treat with a hot cup of tea or coffee.

Ingredients

4 cups chopped rhubarb
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 (20 ounce) can cherry pie filling
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold butter, cubed
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed

Directions

1 Combine rhubarb and lemon juice in a large saucepan over medium-low heat; cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes.
2 Mix 1 cup sugar and cornstarch together in a bowl; stir into rhubarb mixture. Cook and stir until rhubarb mixture is thickened and bubbling, about 5 minutes. Stir in pie filling; remove from heat and cool filling, about 10 minutes.
3 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
4 Combine 3 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl; cut in 1 cup cubed butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs.
5 Beat buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla extract together in a separate bowl; add to flour mixture and stir just until batter is moistened.
6 Spread a little more than half of the batter into the prepared baking dish; top with cherry-rhubarb filling. Drop teaspoonfuls of remaining batter over filling.
7 Combine 1 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 cups flour in a bowl; cut in 1/2 cup cubed butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle mixture over batter.
8 Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes.