I love to find and try new recipes.  Especially as a way to use a fruit or veggie that I might have an abundance of, or if I simply just don’t want to cook that item in my “usual” way.

This week, it was rhubarb.

I love rhubarb pie.  Problem is, I don’t make pie.  I’ve never had luck with a home-made pie crust, and I don’t like buying pre-made crusts because of the funky ingredients that I can’t pronounce, and well…pie crust isn’t good for you anyway.

My mom had given me some rhubarb last week and I automatically figured I’d make a rhubarb cobbler or a rhubarb crisp.  Since I made a cherry cobbler earlier that week, I settled on the rhubarb crisp.  Made the exact same way as an apple crisp, but with chopped rhubarb.  And I like my rhubarb straight up- no strawberries added!

One of my daycare moms brought me a bunch of rhubarb on Monday and I was super excited since my rhubarb ‘fix’ wasn’t fully satisfied.  But I still didn’t want a cobbler, and I didn’t want a crisp again….so what to do…what to do.

I consulted with my favorite trusty recipe website: www.allrecipes.com

I told it I had rhubarb and cream cheese- what could I make?

It’s response…..

RHUBARB CHEESECAKE DREAM BARS

They sounded good, intriguing, relatively easy to make.  So I made them.  I forgot to finely chop the rhubarb, accidentally leaving it in 1″ chunks.  It still turned out OK.  I wouldn’t describe it as a cheesecake.  It’s more like a layered dessert.  I wouldn’t even call it “bars” either.

Here’s a link to the website (and yes it’s MY picture on the site- I didn’t think their picture did it any justice!):  http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/rhubarb-cheesecake-dream-bars/Detail.aspx

And here’s the recipe for those of you who don’t want to click on the link (I’ve changed the name):

RHUBARB DREAM DESSERT:

Ingredients

Bottom Layer:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon white sugar

Rhubarb Layer:
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups finely chopped rhubarb

Cheesecake Layer:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg

Topping:
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon white sugar

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease an 11×7-inch baking dish.
  2. In a bowl, mix together 1 cup flour, the softened butter, and 1 tablespoon sugar until well combined; press into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
  3. Bake the crust in the preheated oven until it starts to brown, about 10 minutes. Remove the crust. Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  4. Using the same bowl, thoroughly mix 1 cup sugar with 1/4 cup flour; stir in the rhubarb and toss to coat. Spread the rhubarb mixture over the baked crust. Using the same bowl, mash the cream cheese, 1/2 cup of sugar, and the egg until the mixture is creamy; spread over the rhubarb.
  5. Bake in the oven until the rhubarb is bubbling and the topping is set, about 35 minutes.
  6. In the same bowl, mix sour cream with 1 tablespoon of sugar; spread over the hot dessert. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars. Refrigerate leftovers.