Bring on the summer berries! We had plans to pick raspberries with friends yesterday but we had our first cat crisis (she swallowed a nice long string of yarn) resulting in a trip to the emergency vet (she’s doing fine now!) so we didn’t make it to the berry farm. Our sweet friends brought us some fresh-picked raspberries to console us though and they were so so good. Blueberry picking is coming soon and we can’t wait!
This year I made these blueberry pies bars for the 4th of July. We were in Utah with Dustin’s family and everyone LOVED them. The sour-cream based custard filling is what makes them creamy/tangy/unique. And it takes a lot of self-restraint to not eat all that cookie crumble right off the top! I’ve made them a few times now… even once with frozen berries- don’t bother thawing them, but do add some extra flour and cornstarch so they thicken up. You can double the recipe to fit a 9×13 pan but you’ll have to increase the baking time quite a bit (I would start checking them around an hour in case your oven is extra hot). Let the bars cool before cutting so they can set. I find them most irresistible with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Blueberry Pie Crumb Bars
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch kosher salt
Filling:
1 egg
1/2 heaping cup sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
4 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. cinnamon. (optional- I only use the cinnamon in the crust)
2 tsp. vanilla extract (or 1 tsp. vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp. almond extract)
2 cups blueberries
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray an 8×8-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Line the pan with parchment paper so that it hangs over on two sides. Spray the parchment.
- For the crust: In the bowl of a food processor, combine the butter, sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Process until the mixture starts to come together and clump, 1 minute. Remove 3/4 cup and reserve; press the remaining crust mixture evenly into the prepared baking pan. Set aside.
- For the filling: In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, sour cream, sugar, lemon juice, flour, cornstarch, vanilla (and almond, if using) extract and cinnamon (if using) until smooth. Mix in 1 cup of the blueberries. Pour the filling mixture over the crust, shaking the pan gently to settle the custard and berries. Pour the remaining 1 cup blueberries over the top, spreading them evenly.
- Take the reserved crust and sprinkle it over the top of the berries, squeezing the mixture in your hands to encourage large lumps.
- Bake for ~1 hour. Let cool. Remove the bars from the pan and cut into 9 pieces. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Makes an 8×8 pan of bars.
Adapted from Food Network
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