Creamy Lemon Oat Crumble Bars

An updated fix on a bar recipe I tried on Pinterest. The original recipe was for a smaller pan and the crumble was too dry and dusty for my taste...it fell off the bar despite pressing it into the filling. I tweaked the recipe by expanding it for a 9x13 pan (and adding more butter!!) The result made for a more successful crumble topping.

Ingredients

Filling:
2 cans (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
zest of two lemons, finely grated
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

Crust/Crumble Topping:
1 3/4 cups flour, all purpose
1 1/4 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, cold, cubed
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt


Heat oven to 375F degrees.
Coat 9x13 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Combine milk, lemon zest and lemon juice in medium bowl until thickened; set aside.

Mix remaining ingredients in medium bowl with pastry blender or fork until crumbly. Reserve 1 cup of crumble mixture for topping. Press remaining crumble mixture into prepared pan and bake approx. 10 minutes or until lightly golden.

Spread lemon milk mixture over warm crust. Clump the reserved crumble mixture with your hand and sprinkle it over the lemon milk mixture, pressing down lightly.

Bake about 25-30 minutes or until edges are golden brown and center is set but soft. Cool completely before cutting.