rhubarb is one of my all time favourite ingredients to bake with. i love all things sour, so it only makes sense that i love rhubarb in my desserts. this recipe is a pleasent change from a strawberry & rhubarb based recipe. it combines fresh rhubarb & apple, with a coconut topped crisp. as always, the topping portion of this recipe yields a very generous amount, because i don't like to be skimpy on my fruit to crumble ratio. i want each bite of fruit to have an equal amount of sweet, buttery oats!

for this crisp i used bob's redmill unsweetened coconut flakes. i always stick to unsweetened coconut in my recipes, so i can control the amount of sweetness being added to a dish. i absolutely love working with the coconut flakes, as the texture of them is so light & (well) flaky! i like to snack on them too & use the large flakes in my granola or cereal. so good.

ingredients

for the fruit filling

4 cups fresh rhubarb, diced
3 cups apples, peeled & diced
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon juice

for the topping

1 cup bob's red mill old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup bob's red mill all-purpose flour
1 cup bob's red mill unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold & cubed

directions

for the fruit filling

preheat oven to 350 degrees.
in a large mixing bowl toss together the rhubarb, apples, brown sugar, cornstarch, vanilla & lemon juice.
transfer mixture to a 9 by 12 inch baking dish & set aside while you prepare your topping.

for the topping

in a large mixing bowl whisk the oats, flour, flaked coconut, pecans, brown sugar & salt.
add the cubed butter. using your hands workthe butter into the mixture until it resembles a pea sized crumb consistency.
evenly disperse over the filling & bake for 50 to 50 minutes, until the fruit filling is bubbly.
remove from oven & let cool slighty.
serve warm with vanilla ice cream.