Emulsifier Free Honey-Pear Crumble Bars
These bars are the kind of thing that disappear from the counter before they've fully cooled — golden, crumbly on top, and filled with a glossy honey-pear center that tastes like autumn in the best possible way. The filling comes together in a saucepan with ripe diced pears, honey, a touch of nutmeg, and a splash of apple cider vinegar that brightens everything up without overpowering the fruit. Tapioca starch does the thickening work in both the filling and the crust, keeping the whole recipe free from the synthetic emulsifiers and additives that sneak into so many packaged baked goods and store-bought bars. The base and crumble are built from rolled oats, rice flour, and cold butter worked into coarse, clumpy crumbs — no stabilizers, no shortcuts, just honest ingredients that bake up beautifully. Pressing two-thirds of that mixture into the pan first gives you a sturdy, compact crust that holds together when you slice, while the reserved crumble scattered on top turns golden and slightly crisp in the oven. Letting them cool completely before cutting is genuinely worth the wait — the layers set up properly and you get clean, satisfying bars instead of a crumbly mess. Wrap a few up for lunchboxes or serve them warm with a scoop of ice cream and nobody will ask a single question about what's in them.
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Learn more →Ingredients
9 servings
For the crust and crumble
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats
- ¾ cup rice flour
- ¼ cup tapioca starch
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into ½-inch cubes
For the pear filling
- 3 medium ripe pears (about 1 ½ lb), peeled, cored, and cut into ½-inch dice
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp tapioca starch
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9×9-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two opposite sides to use as handles for lifting the bars out later.
- 2
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the rolled oats, rice flour, tapioca starch (the crust-and-crumble portion), granulated sugar, and fine sea salt until evenly combined. Scatter the cold butter cubes over the dry mixture and work them in with a pastry cutter or your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse, clumpy crumbs with some pea-sized pieces of butter remaining — do not work it until smooth.
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