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Prep time
45 minutes
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Cook time
1 hour 5 minutes
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Makes
16 squares
Author Notes
It is amazing what the combination of a pantry clean up and announcement of the Food52 contest on the same day can do! I had a big unopened box of cornflakes and a tin of guava paste that were both nearing their expiration date, so of course, I started racking my brain to find ideas to use them up.
Since I love fruity, crunchy desserts, I had been eyeing this recipe http://www.food.com/recipe..., as well as this one http://allrecipes.com/recipe..., for the longest time. This contest seemed just the right time to try my hand at adapting these recipes!
Once I had decided to use the guava filling, adding coconut and lime seemed like the perfect thing to do! The combination smelled incredible as it baked in the oven and it also helped to make the crumble bars not too sweet! Since I have been trying to make my baked goods a bit healthier, I also subbed the butter with coconut oil and decided to throw in the cornflakes to make the bars crunchy and chewy!
I knew right away that I wanted to make a double layered crumble bar - if one layer tasted good, then why not add another one, right?! Although cooking the layers one by one might seem a little fussy, it ensures that each and every layer gets to be crumbly and crunchy!
Guava is one of my favorite fruits, so I added an insane amount of the paste in this recipe. Should you sub it with a runnier jam/preserve, you will need to use quite a bit less.
Enjoy!
—Madhuja
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Ingredients
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1 cup
coconut oil, at room temperature
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1 cup
dark brown sugar
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2
eggs
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1 tablespoon
vanilla
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zest and juice of 2 limes
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2 cups
All purpose flour
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1 cup
rolled oats
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3 cups
cornflakes
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1 cup
sweetened coconut flakes
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2 teaspoons
baking powder
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1 teaspoon
kosher salt
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21 ounces
guava paste, thinly sliced (I used the Guayaquil brand)
Directions
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In the bowl of a stand mixer whip the coconut oil and brown sugar until thoroughly blended. Add the 2 eggs and mix well. Add the vanilla, lime juice and zest and mix for a few more seconds
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Add the flour, rolled oats, cornflakes, sweetened coconut flakes, baking powder and kosher salt. Using the lowest setting, mix until everything is well combined and the dough is starting to pull away from the sides. Stash it in the fridge for 30 minutes and start preheating the oven at 375F, with a rack positioned in the middle of the oven.
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While the dough sits in the fridge, prep the baking pan. Thoroughly grease an 8 inch square pan with butter. Place a large piece of parchment paper in the pan, with enough to drape over the edges, and butter that too. You are going to use the extra parchment paper on the sides to help lift the crumble bar out of the pan.
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Once the dough has chilled for half an hour, take it out of the fridge. Pat down two cups of the dough into the bottom of the pan (return the rest of the dough to the fridge) and using either your palm or another piece of parchment paper, pack it into a smooth, compact layer. Bake it for 10 minutes until the top is beginning to get golden brown.
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Now it's time to add the first layer of guava paste! Take the pan out of the oven and layer half of the thinly sliced guava paste on top of the base layer. Since the paste is not going to become too gooey in the baking process, you do no€™t have to leave too much of a border on the sides. Be careful, the baking pan is going to be warm! Scoop out two cups of the chilled dough (and return the rest back to the fridge). Crumble the two cups of dough all over the guava paste and using a piece of parchment paper, press it down into as smooth a layer as you can. Do not worry if it is somewhat lumpy at places, it is all going to work out just fine! Bake for 15 minutes until the top is golden brown.
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Time to add the second layer! Take the baking pan out of the oven and layer the rest of the guava paste slices on top. Careful, the pan is going to be pretty hot by now! Crumble the rest of the dough (should be about 2 cups) on top of the guava, and again use the parchment paper to smooth out the top. Bake for about 40 minutes, until the top is a beautiful golden brown and is firm to the touch.
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Put the pan on a wire rack and let it cool completely. Using the extra parchment paper on the sides, gently lift out the crumble bar. Cut into squares and enjoy!
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