...Blueberry Crumb Bars

I seem to be making quite a liar out of myself with this "I never make bars" talk.  Delicious recipes seem to be popping up everywhere I turn and I can't help but want to make them for myself.  When I saw these posted on one of my favorite blogs and realized that she had gotten the recipe from another one of my favorite blogs, I decided it was kismet and I must make them, too.  It starts out similar to these with a basic crumbly dough recipe.

Then you add plump, juicy, fresh blueberries... pop it in the oven and Voila!

It just so happened that I was planning to go to the K-State football game and that I'd promised to bring a dessert... and the fact that this dessert is purple and so are the Wildcats... well, again, kismet.

Blueberry Crumb Bars
makes 24 bars


1 1/2 cups white sugar, divided
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cold unsalted butter
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
zest and juice of one lemon
4 cups fresh blueberries
4 teaspoons cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a 9x13-inch pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder.  Mix in salt and lemon zest.  Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg.  Dough will be crumbly.  Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.

In another bowl, stir together the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice.  Gently mix in the blueberries.  Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust.  Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.

Bake in a preheated oven for 45 minutes or until top is slightly brown.  Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Taylor's Notes:
Another easy recipe... and fun, too, because you can get your hands dirty by using your fingertips to blend the butter and egg into the flour mixture.  I used a fork to get it all started and then used my fingers to really get it all blended together.


I bet you could use frozen-then-thawed blueberries for this recipe when fresh aren't in season, but, as I'm sure you know, fresh always tastes better.  Deb from Smitten Kitchen says that she substitutes other fruit during the year - like cranberries in the fall - and uses orange zest and juice in place of the lemon.  Sounds delicious to me!


These didn't keep as well as I'd hoped.  The crumb topping got a little soft after a day or so, but they're still quite tasty and will be wonderful warmed up for breakfast!


Enjoy!