Carrageenan Free Maple-Ginger Pear Crumble Bars
Warm pears, fragrant ginger, and a double hit of pure maple syrup come together in a bar that tastes like autumn in every single bite. The base and crumble are built from rolled oats, rice flour, and tapioca starch, which means the texture is satisfyingly crisp and golden without relying on any of the thickeners or stabilizers that sneak into so many packaged desserts. Carrageenan is a surprisingly common additive in processed foods and even some dairy products, so baking from scratch with straightforward pantry ingredients is one of the easiest ways to sidestep it entirely. The pear filling gets cooked down on the stovetop with fresh ginger and a spoonful of tapioca starch until it turns glossy and jammy — no shortcuts, no mystery additives. Cold butter worked into the oat mixture creates those irresistible clumpy crumbs that bake up crunchy on top while the filling stays soft and fragrant underneath. Once the bars cool completely, they slice cleanly into nine generous squares that hold their shape beautifully. These are the kind of thing you'll want to keep on the counter all week — if they last that long.
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Learn more →Ingredients
9 servings
For the crust and crumble
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ¾ cup rice flour
- ¼ cup tapioca starch
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup 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 pure maple syrup
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely grated
- 1 tbsp tapioca starch
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
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 1/4 cup amount), baking powder, and salt. 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. Drizzle in the 1/3 cup maple syrup and stir with a fork until the mixture just comes together into a crumbly, slightly sticky dough.
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