Pineapple Crumble Squares

Crust

2 cups flour or 2 cups Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF flour or 2 cups of your favorite GF flour blend + ½ tsp xanthan gum (omit if your flour already contains it)

¾ cup butter, softened

½ tsp GF vanilla

1 cup sugar

¼ tsp kosher salt

Filling

4 cups chopped fresh pineapple or 2-20 oz cans chopped or ring pineapple or 1-20 oz can chopped or ring pineapple (you can easily chop rings yourself) + 1-20 oz can crushed pineapple, drained

1/3 cup sugar

¼ tsp kosher salt

¼ cup cornstarch (if using fresh) or 6 tbsp cornstarch if using canned

1½ tbsp lemon juice (can use bottled or 1 fresh lemon should give you the right amount)

Optional

¼ cup slivered almonds (to mix into top crumble layer)

Lightly spray a 9 inch square baking pan with GF baking spray.

Whisk together flour, xanthan gum (if using), sugar, & salt.

Add butter & vanilla. Mix until coarse crumbs form. (I like to do this with a pastry cutter, but you can use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. It should take about 1 minute on medium-low)

Reserve about 1 cup of crumb mixture for the topping.

Gently press the remainder of the crumb mixture into your prepared pan.

Bake at 375° for 16-18 minutes. The crust should be golden brown. (Be careful not to over cook, or the bottom will get too brown when you put it back in the oven after adding the filling & more topping.)

Place on wire rack & cool for 30 minutes.

While the crust is cooling, in a medium bowl gently mix together all of the filling ingredients.

When the 30 minutes is up, mix the almonds (if using) into the reserved crumb mixture.

Spread the pineapple mixture over the cooled crust.

Sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture over the pineapple filling.

Bake at 375° for 45-55 minutes, until the filling is bubbly & the topping is lightly browned.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. It should be ready to cut after about 1 hour. Cut into squares. (It should make about 16 dessert size squares.)

Notes:

This recipe is based on www.southernliving.com/recipes/buttery-pineapple-crumble-bars.

If the pineapple filling is too juicy, just use a slotted spoon to scoop it up when you spread it over the cooled crust.

I don’t add the almonds because of nut allergies in the family. But if you don’t have to worry about allergies, they are a nice touch!

The reason for cooling for an hour before cutting into bars, is so the filling will set. You can cut them sooner, but they will be soft & may not hold their shape very well.

These are delicious on their own, or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!