Lactose 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 bake that makes your kitchen smell absolutely incredible. The filling gets cooked down on the stovetop with coconut sugar, Ceylon cinnamon, and cardamom until it turns glossy and jam-like, so every bite is deeply fragrant and satisfying. Tapioca starch does the thickening work here, keeping the filling set and sliceable without any dairy-based additions. The crust and crumble are built from rolled oats, rice flour, and cold butter, which means the texture is hearty and rustic rather than cakey — and naturally free from milk solids or cream. Butter is the only dairy in the entire recipe, and since lactose is found in the milk solids rather than pure butterfat, unsalted butter at these quantities sits comfortably within a lactose-free approach for most people. Coconut sugar and maple syrup add a gentle caramel depth that plays beautifully against the cardamom without any heaviness. Let the bars cool fully before slicing and you'll get clean, sturdy squares 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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