Sour Cream-Rhubarb Squares

Sour Cream-Rhubarb Squares are a category of baked bar cookie characterized by a tender, moist crumb achieved through the combined leavening and tenderizing action of sour cream and baking soda, layered or studded with tart rhubarb pieces and finished with a cinnamon-spiced nut topping. The recipe employs a dual-fat base of butter or margarine and shortening, which contributes to a rich, crumbly texture typical of old-fashioned American bar cookies. Sweetened with both brown and white sugars, the bars achieve a nuanced flavor profile that balances the assertive acidity of rhubarb against caramel-like depth. Their classification as drop cookies reflects a rustic, pan-baked preparation common to community and farmhouse baking traditions.

Cultural Significance

Rhubarb-based baked goods hold particular cultural resonance in the Upper Midwest and rural communities of North America, where rhubarb was one of the first perennial plants to produce edible stalks each spring, making it a highly valued ingredient in home baking. Recipes of this type were frequently circulated through church cookbooks, county fair collections, and community recipe exchanges throughout the mid-twentieth century, serving as a practical means of utilizing garden-grown rhubarb. The precise origin of this specific recipe remains unknown, though it is broadly considered a product of traditional American farmhouse cookery.