Gluten Free Honey-Pear Crumble Bars

Total time1 hr 30 min

Prep time20 min

Cook time40 min

4.9

(9)

These bars hit that perfect sweet spot between a rustic fruit crumble and a handheld dessert you can actually pack in a lunchbox. Ripe pears get cooked down with honey, a touch of nutmeg, and a splash of apple cider vinegar until they turn glossy and jammy — the kind of filling that smells incredible the moment it hits the pan. The base and crumble are built from rolled oats, rice flour, and tapioca starch, which means the texture is genuinely satisfying rather than the gritty or crumbly compromise you sometimes get with wheat-free baking. Cold butter worked into the dry mix creates those irresistible pea-sized clumps that bake up golden and slightly crisp on top while staying tender underneath. The tapioca starch does double duty here — it binds the crust and thickens the filling — so every bite holds together cleanly when you cut the bars. Letting them cool completely before slicing is the one step you really cannot rush, but the payoff is neat, bakery-worthy squares that are just as good the next day.

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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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