I remember the first time my mum made rhubarb crisp when I was kid. I stood in the kitchen watching her sprinkle butter and sugar over top of the rhubarb, thinking, "Uh, I'm pretty sure she's putting celery in my dessert. Gross." Oh how wrong that child was.
My mum is one of those weirdos (albeit a beautiful one) who doesn't like strawberries (or raspberries or coconut or pineapple...), so I never had the heavenly combination of rhubarb and strawberry until much later in life. And well, the two were pretty much meant to be together.
I had been itching to bake something with rhubarb, so when I finally found some good strawberries at the farmer's market (they've been a little rusty this season), I knew something delicious was about to happen. I wanted a self-contained pastry, but I didn't want a muffin or a tart. So these mini buckles were born. They're probably not buckles in the strictest sense of the term, what with the shortbread like dough that makes up the bottom and sides. In any case, they might be some of the most delicious baked fruit desserts I've made. Truth.
