Pitter Patter Pineapple Oatmeal Dessert Squares

You guys, if you are fans of pineapple, graham cracker crumbs, and whipping cream, this dessert is for you. Wow! Just wow. I cannot believe how delicious this yummy pineapple showoff dessert it. Did I mention that it is easy to make, too? The name of this confection is so fitting. It really does “showoff” in comparison to other desserts. Shoot, I’d eat this over chocolate cake! Now, that’s saying a lot because folks don’t generally pass up a slice of chocolate cake…at least I don’t!

Check out what my pals over at Genius Kitchen had to say about this recipe:

A sweet lady at the church I attended growing up used to make these for potlucks and church dinners. She once gave me the recipe on a card, which I’ve long since misplaced, but I had copied the recipe into another cookbook and have made it many times. Every time I take these bars somewhere, people ask for the recipe. They’re also great made with zucchini pineapple (the recipe is also posted here on the zaar, by another chef). I like to cut the sugar down by at least 1/4 cup, because the pineapple is sweet enough, and I’ve always made these with real butter. Quick oats or old-fashioned will work, but the old-fashioned does make it a little more challenging to press the crust into the pan. I intend to try a mixture of the two at some point, but haven’t ever done it. These would be great for a bake sale, potluck, or gifts. The crust does tend to be a little soft, so I’d be sure to package with something firm underneath, rather than just wrapping in plastic. I’ve seen other recipes that add nuts, coconut, etc. I’m sure that would be great as well, but this is just the basic, buttery, oatmeal and brown sugar crust and topping. Yum!

 

Ingredients

1 (20 ounce) can Dole crushed pineapple (Do NOT drain)
1 cup Domino sugar
3 1⁄2 tablespoons Argo cornstarch
1 3⁄4 cups oatmeal
1⁄4 teaspoon Morton salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 1⁄2 cups Gold Medal flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3⁄4 cup butter or 3⁄4 cup margarine, softened

Instructions

For the filling, combine the sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan and mix well. Add the pineapple and its juice, and cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring constantly. Cool.
For the crust, combine oatmeal, salt, brown sugar, flour, and baking powder together. work in butter until mixture is uniform.
Reserve 1 1/4 cup of crumb mixture, and press the rest into an ungreased 9 x 13 pan, working up edges just slightly to help hold filling off of the edge of the pan.
Pour filling over oatmeal mixture and spread evenly.
Sprinkle reserved crumbs evenly over filling.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. cool and cut into bars.