Superb Summer Rhubarb Crisp

Rhubarb crisp is the dessert that justifies the patch growing in your backyard. Tart rhubarb needs a heavy dose of sugar to become dessert, and the two cups in this recipe is the right amount for four cups of fruit. Less sugar leaves the dish unpleasantly sour. More turns it into syrup-soaked candy.

The topping is the dead-simple part. Sugar, flour, cinnamon, and cold butter get rubbed together into crumbs and sprinkled over the rhubarb. No oats, no nuts, no fuss. Some traditional crisp recipes include oats, but this version stays true to the older Midwestern style where the topping is more like a deconstructed shortbread. As the crisp bakes, the rhubarb releases juice that bubbles up through the topping, soaks the bottom layer, and sets up like jam.

Pro Tips

• Use fresh rhubarb if you can get it. Frozen rhubarb works but releases extra water and the dish turns soupy. Thaw and drain hard if going that route.
• Cut the rhubarb into uniform half-inch pieces. Big chunks stay too firm. Tiny pieces dissolve into pulp.
• Use cold butter and a pastry blender or two forks to cut the topping into crumbs. Warm butter blends into a paste rather than forming the pebbly texture you want.
• Let the crisp rest 15 minutes before serving. Hot juices need time to thicken into a syrup that clings to the fruit.

Variations

• Swap half the rhubarb for fresh strawberries for the classic strawberry-rhubarb pairing.
• Add a half cup of rolled oats and chopped pecans to the topping for a more textured crumble.
• Stir a teaspoon of grated fresh ginger into the fruit for a spicy lift that loves rhubarb.