Two Gluten Free Rhubarb Bars to try this year

There are always so many recipes passing around facebook, and mostly I ignore them.  There are three or four main reasons I tend to ignore even the tastiest looking ones.  1) They are not usually Gluten Free; 2) Much of the time I can't think clearly enough to follow a recipe; 3) The additional cost of special ingredients, even things like chocolate chips are often a luzxury; and 4) I don't need the tempation of treats and sweets lying around.

But isn't there something irrisistable about rhubarb in the spring?

I took the time this to translate two really yummy looking rhubarb recipes into gluten free.  Oh, and they're also sized up a notch.  I've not had time or rhubarb to try them, since I'd just frozen and cooked up anything that was ready when these two recipes came along.  Feel free to try them and let me know how they turned out.  I'll be trying them in a couple of weeks.  Our rhubarb plant should be good and full by the time we return from vacation.

GF Rhubarb Cheesecake Bars
Preheat oven to 375°F.

Crust

• 2 ½ cups GF flour mix*
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 cup butter or fat of choice (I use equl parts lard and coconut oil)

Spread into jelly roll pan.  Bake for 10 minutes.

Rhubarb Layer

• 3 cups chopped rhubarb
• ¾ cup sugar
• ¼ cup GF flour mix

Mix together and bake for 15 minutes.

Cream Cheese Fillin

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs

Whip together until fluffy.  Pour over rhubarb and bake for 25 minutes.

Glaze

• 1 cup sour cream
• ¼ c sugar
• 1/2 tbs vanilla

Spread over hot bars.

GF Rhubarb muffins with Struesel topping

Prepare 3 muffin pans as desired, greasing or papering. Preheat oven to 400°F.

• 6 c GF flour mix*
• 2 c sugar
• 2 ½ tbs. baking powder
• 1 tbs.ground cinnamon
• ½ tbs baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tbs xanthan gum

Mix together.

• 1 c fat (½ c coconut oil and ½ c lard)

Either cut into dry ingredients, or melt and cool slightly, then add with liquid.

• 3 cup sour cream
• 6 large eggs, beaten
• 1 tbs. pure vanilla extract

Wisk together and stir into dry ingredients.

• 4 cups rhubarb, diced small

Stir into batter.

Spoon into greased or papered muffin cups. Fill to just over level with top of muffin cups.

• 3 Tbs. granulated sugar
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon

Sprinkle over muffins before baking.
Bake at 400°F for 18-20 minutes.


*Note re Gf flour mixes:  If your mix already has xanthan gum or baking powder in it, you may have to tweak the amounts of these ingredients. I use the Kelli and Peter Bronski's mix from their cookbooks and their No Gluten, No Problem blog.  This mix has a small amount of xanthan gum, but no baking powder.