Gluten Free Pear Crumble Bars with Cinnamon and Cardamom
Warm spiced pears tucked between a buttery oat crust and a golden crumble topping — this is the kind of bar that makes your kitchen smell like a proper autumn bakery. Rice flour stands in for all-purpose seamlessly here, giving the base and topping a tender, slightly crisp texture that holds together beautifully once cooled. Tapioca starch does the quiet heavy lifting in the filling, thickening those pear juices into a glossy, jammy layer that doesn't turn watery or soggy when sliced. The double hit of Ceylon cinnamon and cardamom runs through both the crust and the filling, so every bite is fragrant and cohesive rather than one-note sweet. Coconut sugar adds a gentle caramel depth that pairs perfectly with ripe pears without overwhelming them. These bars are genuinely easy to pull off — a quick stovetop filling, a press-and-scatter assembly, and the oven does the rest. Let them cool fully before slicing and you'll get clean, bakery-worthy bars that are just as good the next day.
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Learn more →Ingredients
9 servings
For the crust and crumble
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats
- ¾ cup rice flour
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar
- ½ tsp ground ceylon cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
For the pear filling
- 4 medium ripe pears (about 1 ½ lbs), peeled, cored, and cut into ½-inch dice
- 3 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 tsp ground ceylon cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- 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, stir together the rolled oats, rice flour, coconut sugar, Ceylon cinnamon, cardamom, and 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. Drizzle in the maple syrup and toss with a fork until the mixture just holds together when pressed.
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