Rhubarb Crumble Pie

All that rhubarb harvesting on Tuesday made me hungry for some good Rhubarb pie.  Last week Steve's coworker (and our neighbor here in the Butte) harvested some Rhubarb from his property and passed it along to us, and I scoured the web for a rhubarb recipe that sounded good.  I found about three different recipes, incorporated different bits of each one, and started baking.  The final product turned out so good that I decided to write down my mismatched recipe, and despite having already baked three pies last week, I decided to make some more this week.  

I also made some rhubarb muffins, after finding a recipe that utilized some sour cream that I had in the fridge, needing to be used up.  You can find that recipe here - they were delicious, I think Steve ate half of them the first evening after I made them, even though they were supposed to be breakfast treats for him.  

Oh, and I came up with this genius way to hold the recipe card, aren't you impressed?  

Well, even if you aren't, you will be with this pie!  It is great both warm and cold, especially with ice cream after dinner or with coffee in the morning (if you drink the stuff, personally I don't, but then that's another story).  

First you have to make the crust.  When I decided to make the first pie, I was doing so last minute before leaving on a camping trip, and I didn't have enough butter for the usual crust recipe I make.  So I did what anyone would do, and googled "quick pie crust recipe".  And guess what?  It worked!  I found one that incorporated oil instead of butter, and I just adjusted it for use with what I had.

Quick Rustic Pie Crust
*makes one crust

1 3/8 C flour (I use half unbleached and half whole wheat)
6 T coconut oil (canola oil would be another good choice)
3 T cold coconut milk (the original recipe called for just regular old cow's milk, but I used what I had on hand).
3/4 t salt

1.  Combine liquid ingredients.

2.  Add flour and salt.

3.  Mix together using spatula or wood spoon or whatever you have.

4.  Dump into pie plate and press outward from the center, using your palms until the entire bottom of the pie plate is covered by an even layer of crust dough.  It should naturally press upwards on the sides. Use your fingertips to even it out and completely cover the entire pie plate.  It's really that easy! No rolling required.  Set aside.

Rhubarb Pie Filling
*this is for a normal sized pie plate.  Use half again as much for a deep dish pan.

2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 C sugar
2 T melted butter
2 T flour
2 cups coarsely chopped rhubarb (you can chop it as fine or as course as you prefer really, Steve just happens to like bigger chunks of Rhubarb)

1.  Pick two eggs from the bunch and lightly beat them in a large mixing bowl.  If they are local or homegrown, even better!

2.  Add the sugar, butter and flour and stir until combined.

3.  Add the finely chopped Rhubarb and fold in until just combined.

4.  Pour into prepared pie crust.  Marvel at how delicious it looks and then set aside.

Crumbly Crisp Topping
*you could always make another pie crust for a topping instead if you don't want a crumble topping

1/4 C butter, room temperature
1/2 C sugar
1/4 C flour
1/4 C milled flax (if you don't have any flax, you can go ahead and use an extra 1/4 C of flour)
1/3 C oats
1/2 t cinnamon

1.  Mix all ingredients together until course and crumbly.  Sprinkle evenly over pie filling and then pop in the oven at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes.  You want the crisp to be golden brown and the filling to be bubbling.  Take out when done and cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before cutting.  We'll see if you can wait that long before you want to dig in and enjoy!

Rhubarb Crumble Pie

Quick Rustic Pie Crust

*makes one crust

• 1 3/8 C flour (I use half unbleached and half whole wheat)
• 6 T coconut oil (canola oil would be another good choice)
• 3 T cold coconut milk (the original recipe called for just regular old cow's milk, but I used what I had on hand).
• 3/4 t salt

Rhubarb Pie Filling

*this is for a normal sized pie plate.  Use half again as much for a deep dish pan.

• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 C sugar
• 2 T melted butter
• 2 T flour
• 2 cups coarsely chopped rhubarb (you can chop it as fine or as course as you prefer really, Steve just happens to like bigger chunks of Rhubarb)

Crumbly Crisp Topping

*you could always make another pie crust for a topping instead if you don't want a crumble topping

• 1/4 C butter, room temperature
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1/4 C flour
• 1/4 C milled flax (if you don't have any flax, you can go ahead and use an extra 1/4 C of flour)
• 1/3 C oats
• 1/2 t cinnamon

Prepare crust first by mixing all ingredients and pressing into pie plate until dough evenly covers the entire plate.  Set aside.  

Mix filling ingredients together and pour into prepared pie crust.  Set aside.

Mix topping ingredients until course crumbles are visible and then sprinkle evenly over pie filling.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.  Cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting.