In The Kitchen

Sweet tart!

This recipe for rhubarb crisp is from an old cookbook from Saint Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Spillville, Iowa, which is billed as the oldest Czech Catholic church in the country.

Sarah Jackson
Updated: June 3, 2019 - 12:25 pm
Rhubarb crunch
Rhubarb crunch

Rhubarb is one of the first plants to emerge during our oft-delayed Minnesota springs. This year, I harvested some light-red stalks on a cold, rainy day. And I made — for the first time — my mother’s recipe for rhubarb crisp. It was sweet, but perfectly tart, too — even better than I remembered. Thanks, Mom!

RHUBARB CRUNCH

  • 4 cups rhubarb (rinsed and cut into 1/4-inch pieces)
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup flour
  • 3/4 cup quick cooking oats*
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted

*If you don’t have quick-cooking oats, you can make some by pulsing regular rolled oats in a food processor to cut them down to about one-third of their original size.

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place rhubarb in a greased 9×13 baking dish.

Combine 3/4 cup white sugar, water and cornstarch and cook over medium-high to high heat until thick, stirring constantly.

Stir in vanilla while it’s still hot and pour over the rhubarb.

Stir together the flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and melted butter and sprinkle the mixture over the rhubarb.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes.

Cool for 20 minutes.

Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Sarah Jackson’s mother, Lucy Jackson, gleaned this recipe — credited to Mrs. Edward J. Mikota — from an old cookbook from Saint Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Spillville, Iowa, which is billed as the oldest Czech Catholic church in the country, dating back to 1860.