Life is much sweeter with some Mango Crumb Bars in it. These crumbly bars are filled with fresh mangos, then baked to perfection. Savor that tropical flavor. Indulge in this fruity dessert. And if you must, grab them for an afternoon snack. Heck, have them for breakfast! Because WHY NOT.
Mango Crumb Bars are great because they are deceivingly easy to make. A few simple tips and tricks will give you everything you need to bake your heart out and never look back.
Mangoes are also in season right now and are such a treat when incorporated into desserts. Besides having a distinct flavor and scent, the ripened fruit itself is sweet as candy. Does that not spell dessert material or what?!?
My love for mangoes has led to a boat load of mango recipes on this blog. Everything from the traditional Thai Mango Sweet Sticky Rice to Fish Tacos with Mango Peach Salsa. And now this. Mango is one of those fruits that I love and love to incorporate into dishes and desserts even more.
What mangoes to use for Mango Crumb Bars?
This recipe calls for ripened, super sweet mangoes. A ripened mango will typically be orange/yellow-ish in color, and it smells sweet and mango-y (if you know what I mean 🙂 ). We are using ~2 mangoes for this recipe, maybe 3 if they are smaller.
How to make Mango Crumb Bars?
Cut the mangoes into small chunks, and mix with sugar and cornstarch. If you are using less sweet mangoes, add more sugar to the mixture.
The dough requires cold butter. Yes, cold! Bring it out from the refridgerator right before you need to use it. After mixing the dry ingredients together (flour, baking powder, salt), add chunks of cold butter into the food processor and pulse until mixture turns crumbly (see picture below).
Alternatively, you can also use a pastry cutter to mix the butter into the dry ingredients until mixture becomes crumbly.
Mix together wet ingredients (brown sugar, egg, vanilla extract), then pour wet ingredients into the crumbly mixture and mix well.
Bring ~2/3 of the crumbly mixture and spread it onto a 8″x8″ baking pan lined with parchment paper (for even-baking and easy removal of the bars). If you are not using parchment paper, consider greasing the pan.
Use a spatula to press crumbs onto the pan to form the bottom layer of the bar. Pour and spread mango mixture onto the bottom crumb layer. Then sprinkle the rest of the crumb mixture on top of the mango mixture.
Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees F.
And viola.
Let the pastry cool in the pan for 5-10 minute. Lift parchment paper and bring the pastry out to cool further. Give it at least 15-20 minutes. It is a lot easier to cut into square bars after it cools down.
Crumbly, buttery pastry. Soft, sweet, juicy, fresh mangoes. So lovely together.
I typically store these for a couple of days in the fridge, but they never last too long because they are just TOO GOOD.
The next time you are craving for dessert, and are about to bake a cookie or a cake, consider baking some Mango Crumb Bars. They are simple, easy on the eyes, and even easier on the stomach.
Happy baking, all!
Mango Crumb Bars
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups ripe mangoes (small chunks) 2-3 mangoes
- 3-5 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 tbsp corn starch
- 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
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cut mangoes into small chunks. In a bowl, combine mango chunks, sugar (use more if mango is not ripened) and corn starch. Mix well and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.
- Cut cold (important: make sure it is cold!) unsalted butter into chunks and add to flour mixture.
- If using a food processor, pulse until small crumbs are formed. If using a pastry cutter, cut butter into flour mixture until small crumbs are formed.
- Mix together wet ingredients – brown sugar, egg and vanilla extract. Then add wet ingredients into buttery dry mixture. Mix well – mixture should be slightly crumbly.
- Bring ~2/3 of crumbly mixture to the bottom of a 8″ x 8″ baking pan lined with parchment paper. Press mixture onto pan to form a layer of crumb pastry.
- Add mango mixture, and spread it out evenly.
- Then sprinkle the top with the rest of the crumbles.
- Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let it cool for 5-10 minutes. Then lift parchment paper and bring pastry out from the pan. Let it cool for another 15-20 minutes.
- Cut into 9 square bars. Serve and enjoy!
Elaine says
I didn’t put any cornstarch or sugar with the mango! Delicious and very easy!!
Joyous Apron says
That’s awesome! Thanks for sharing!!