As a child I absolutely loved to eat rhubarb straight from the garden. I would eat it til my stomach hurt, dipping the end of the stalk in sugar to add a little sweetness to take away the almost overwhelming tartness. But, now that I’m older I’m not quite sure I could handle it! Don’t get me wrong, I still love rhubarb, I just think it’s better on my system if it’s cooked first. So what better way to cook rhubarb than in a dessert?! 

This is my tried and true recipe for apple rhubarb crisp. As a busy mom who hates taking my two toddlers to the store it’s even nicer that more times than not I can find the ingredients for this recipe right in my cupboards aside from the rhubarb which I normally buy fresh from a local farmer’s market {SHOP LOCAL!!!}. This time I got lucky though, our neighbor gave us two freezer bags full of fresh rhubarb from her garden!

Other than preparing  the apples and cutting the rhubarb it’s a pretty quick recipe. Logan is usually nice enough to peel the apples for me, he’s just faster at it than I am! Sadly, I haven’t mastered peeling apples with just a paring knife and I admire those {like my husband’s grandma} who have! Honestly, if I tried that I’d end up with one less thumb, so I stick to the “amateur’s apple peeler”. 
After you cut up your fruit, toss it in with the brown sugar, flour, and vanilla. More often than not I just do this right in the 9×13 pan I plan on cooking it in! Why make another dirty dish, right? As for the topping, you do have to mix that in a separate bowl. Melt your butter and mix it with the flour, brown sugar, and oats til it’s all crumbly then sprinkle it over the top of your fruit filling.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees (Fahrenheit) and let it cook for an hour or til the topping is golden brown. Let cool for half an hour. 

This dessert is the perfect combination of sweet and tart with the added crunch of the struesal topping. And, like with most desserts, it is always better when served with ice cream!!