Mango crumb bars

Hope everyone had a beautiful summer this year. This summer is definitely a little better than last year’s even though we are still in the middle of a pandemic. Last summer was bleak and isolative in the midst of the lockdown. This year’s summer was full of sunny days, cautious meet ups with friends, Sunday lunches with immediate family and hugs! I can finally hug my nephews!

Because I could visit my family again, I am once again well-fed with delicious homecooked meals with tons of food to take home. My sister and brother-in-law have been sending me home with Filipino food, snacks and groceries that they share with me. I have found myself with more mangoes than I could possibly eat! As much as I hate to admit it, I let two overripe mangoes end up in the compost. I was mad at myself for wasting them until I thought about baking with them! I have been wanting to make my aunt’s Mango Refrigerator Cake but the recipe calls for lady fingers and gelatin which I could not get around to buying. That will be for next summer, God-willing.

I decided to bake Mango Crumb Bars instead. Oh, what a hit they were! I made them twice and they were given many stars of approval by my taste-testers which are BFF and Mr Sweetie. Mr Sweetie, who self-professed that he was not crazy about mangoes, practically would have polished the entire batch of the mango crumb bars if I did not them away from him. BFF loved hers and asked for the recipe. And this recipe is really easy to make. This recipe has been adapted from Joyous Apron.

In the meantime, wishing you all a beautiful fall season! It is fall in the Bay Area which is really our summer. We still have gorgeous warm sunny days at least probably for another two weeks. Then it will be fall feels and I am so excited for it! Fall recipes next!

ingredients

For the mango filling:

• 2 1/2 cups ripe mangoes, cut into small chunks about (2-3 mangoes)
• 1/2 tbsp corn starch
• Sugar (Optional. See note below.)

For the crust:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup cold unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS

To prepare the mango filling:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Peel and cut mangoes into small chunks. (See below on how to cut mangoes.)
• Combine mango chunks, cornstarch and sugar (if using).

TO PREPARE CRUST:

• In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar.
• Add butter to flour mixture.
• Pulse together in a food processor, if using until small crumbs are formed. (Or use two forks or pastry cutter to mix everything together.)
• Add beaten egg and vanilla to the flour mixture. Pulse few more times until incorporated.

FINAL STEPS BEFORE BAKING:

• Press about 3/4 of the crust mixture into a square pan.
• Set some of the crust aside for crumb toppings later.
• Top with chopped mangoes.
• Top with the remaining 1/4 crust mixture by scattering them on top of the mangoes. (This is the crumb part).

1. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or when the top turn slightly golden, and when the flour is cooked. (I took the first batch out after 35 minutes. It was still not cooked. I put it back for another 10 minutes. 45 minutes were the perfect cooking time for me for these bars.)
2. Take out of the oven and completely cool at room temperature before eating. You may also put in the fridge until cold before eating. IMPORTANT: The bars will fall apart if cut while still warm.

MY NOTES

1. I did not have to add sugar both times. The mangoes were already very sweet. If your mangoes are not sweet enough, start with 2 tablespoons of sugar, taste and add more if needed.
2. Best to use very ripe mangoes. Green mangoes would not work here.
3. I have been using vegan butter in my baking. I used vegan butter in this recipe and my taste testers could not tell the difference!
4. I threw all of the ingredients for the crust in the food processor the second time I made these bars. It worked! They were like shortbread cookies.
5. These bars are really good eaten cold.
6. Check out my Salmon with Mango Salsa recipe where I included a guide on how to peel and cube mangoes.

Did you make MANGO CRUMB BARS? Please leave a comment below!