Mugwort Chestnut Crumble Bars

Quick answer

Total time: 55 min
Level: Medium
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients: 8

About this dish

Mugwort chestnut crumble bars use one butter dough in two ways: a pressed mugwort base and small crumbs scattered over a smooth chestnut filling.

Line the square pan into the corners and leave enough parchment above the rim to lift the cooled slab without cracking it. Beat the butter and brown sugar until slightly lighter, then incorporate the egg without letting the mixture separate. Add the cake flour, mugwort powder, and salt, folding with cutting motions only until almost no dry flour remains. Press part of this dough evenly across the bottom, checking that the corners are as thick as the center. Mash the cooked chestnuts with the measured milk to form the middle layer, then spread it thinly without dragging up the base. Break the remaining mugwort dough into pea-sized pieces with your fingertips and distribute them across the chestnut surface. Bake until the edges feel set and the top pieces are lightly golden. The bars need to cool completely in the pan before lifting and cutting. Once firm, each piece holds a structured mugwort base, a softer mashed-chestnut center, and an irregular crumb topping made from the same dough.

Ingredients

servings

IngredientAmountUnit

cake flour180 gg

mugwort powder12 gg

unsalted butter120 gg

brown sugar90 gg

salt2 gg

cooked chestnuts140 gg

milk40 mlml

egg1 piecepiece

Shop All Ingredients

As an Amazon Associate, we may earn from qualifying purchases.

Instructions

Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.

6 steps

1

Heat

Preheat the oven to 175C and line a 20cm square pan with parchment, pressing it into the corners.

Leave a little overhang so the baked slab can be lifted out without cracking.
2

Season

Beat 120 g unsalted butter with 90 g brown sugar until the mixture looks slightly lighter and creamy.

Add 1 egg and mix until even, stopping before the butter separates or turns greasy.
3

Season

Add 180 g cake flour, 12 g mugwort powder, and 2 g salt, then fold with a spatula using cutting motions.

Stop when almost no dry flour remains so the base stays crisp instead of tough.
4

Heat

Press two-thirds of the dough evenly into the bottom of the pan, making the corners the same thickness as the center.

Mash 140 g cooked chestnuts with 40 ml milk to form a spreadable filling.
5

Step

Spread the chestnut filling in a thin, even layer over the pressed dough without dragging up the base.

Break the remaining dough with your fingertips into pea-sized crumbs and scatter them evenly over the top.
6

Heat

Bake at 175C for 30-35 minutes, until the edges feel set and the top crumble is lightly golden.

Cool completely in the pan, then lift out with the parchment and cut into bars to prevent crumbling.

Practical Cooking Checks

The cues that matter most while cooking.

Key technique: One mugwort butter dough forms both the pressed base and pea-sized topping
Finish cue: Bake at 175C for 30-35 minutes, until the edges feel set and the top crumble is lightly golden.
Avoid this: Stop when almost no dry flour remains so the base stays crisp instead of tough.
Storage and reheating: The bars need to cool completely in the pan before lifting and cutting.