Description
A cookie bar made with homemade rhubarb jam, bright tangerine juice, spices and a dose of brown butter complete with a shortbread crust.
Ingredients
Scale
for the rhubarb jam
- 1 cup sugar
- Grated zest and juice of 4 tangerines
- 1/2 half vanilla bean
- 4 large rhubarb stalks, cut into 1/2” pieces
for the brown butter crust
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
for the brown butter filling
- 3 large eggs
- 1 & 1/4 cups sugar
- Grated zest of 2 tangerines
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 vanilla bean
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Instructions
prepare the rhubarb jam
- Place the sugar, grated zest and tangerine juice, the pod and pulp of 1/2 vanilla bean that has been split in half and scraped and the sliced rhubarb in a medium heavy pan.
- Bring to a boil over high heat, cook and stir until rhubarb mixture turns into a thick jam, about 10 minutes.
- Transfer to a bowl (discard the vanilla pod) and cool while you prepare the crust and filling.
prepare the brown butter crust
- Melt the butter over a medium-high heat while whisking.
- Cook the butter for about 5-7 minutes until the milk solids separate, it will brown and become fragrant, remove from heat.
- Pour the browned butter into a shallow bowl and freeze solid, about 30 minutes.
- Place the powdered sugar and flour into a medium bowl and whisk together.
- Remove the brown butter from the freezer and cut into small cubes.
- Mix the butter cubes into the sugar/flour mixture until large crumbs begin to form.
- Work the crumbly mixture into a dough that can be evenly pressed into a foil lined 9×13 pan.
- Chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Bake the crust on a middle oven rack for 15-18 minutes or until lightly brown.
- Cool the crust before assembling the bars.
prepare the brown butter filling
- Whisk together the eggs, sugar, zest and flour in a medium bowl.
- Split and scrape out the pulp of the other half of the vanilla bean and place in a saucepan with the butter.
- Cook the vanilla bean/ butter mixture over a high heat until the milk solids separate, turn brown and become fragrant (discard the vanilla pod).
- Gently pour the brown butter into the egg mixture, whisking until smooth.
assemble the bars
- Spread half the brown butter filling over the baked cooled crust.
- Spoon the rhubarb jam over the filling, reserving about a quarter of the jam to finish the top.
- Spread the remaining brown butter filling over the rhubarb jam and finish by spooning smaller dollops of rhubarb jam over the top.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until the filling is deep golden brown.
- Remove pan from the oven and cool completely before cutting into small (1&1/2″) squares.
- Category: Dessert, Baking