Lactose Free Maple-Ginger Pear Crumble Bars
These bars hit that perfect sweet spot between rustic and refined — tender spiced pear filling sandwiched between a buttery oat crust and a golden, crumbly topping. The combination of fresh ginger and pure maple syrup gives the filling a warm, aromatic depth that feels like autumn in every bite. Since the recipe skips milk, cream, and any dairy-based add-ins entirely, it naturally sidesteps the lactose concerns that can make baked goods tricky — the butter used is well within the threshold most people handle comfortably, and there's nothing hidden in the ingredient list to second-guess. Rice flour and tapioca starch do the heavy lifting in the crust, creating a tender, slightly chewy base that holds together beautifully once cooled. The pear filling gets cooked down on the stovetop until glossy and jammy, so every bar slices cleanly with that satisfying layered look. These are the kind of bars you can bring to a gathering without having to explain a thing — they just taste really, really good.
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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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