Blueberry Bars

5 from 2 votes

Filled with a delicious fresh blueberry layer with a dash of lemon and then topped with a delicate sweet buttery crumble these Blueberry Bars are an amazing tasty sweet treat! It’s a super simple recipe and an easy dessert that your whole family will love!

Prep Time15

Cook Time45

Total Time1

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 316kcal

Author: Joanna Cismaru

Ingredients

Crumb Layers

3 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup butter unsalted, cold and cut in cubes
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Blueberry Layer

5 cups fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat the oven and prep the pan: Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Then spray a 9x13-inch baking pan with cooking spray and line it with parchment paper that is hanging off the sides so that the bars are easy to lift out once baked.
Begin the crumble dough: Whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Now, add the cold cubed butter and use a pastry cutter or fork to blend until it’s well combined and crumbly. The butter must be cold for this step.
Add the egg and vanilla: In a small bowl, whisk the egg together with the vanilla extract. Then add it to the flour mixture and blend it in using a pastry cutter, wooden spoon or fork until the dough is crumbly. Try not to over blend. The butter needs to stay chunky for the crumble to have texture.
Form the crust: Transfer half of the dough to the prepared baking pan and press it firmly into the bottom to form the crust of the bars.
Make the blueberry filling: In another bowl, combine the fresh blueberries, cornstarch, lemon juice, and ½ cup of sugar in a separate bowl.
Add the blueberry layer: Evenly spread the blueberry mixture over the bottom crust layer in the baking pan.
Top with the crumb layer: Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture evenly over the blueberry mixture using your fingers to crumble it up if necessary.
Bake the blueberry bars: Put the baking pan into the oven and bake the bars for about 45 minutes to an hour or until the top is golden brown in color.
Cool and serve: Once baked, allow the bars to completely cool in the pan before lifting them out to cut into blueberry squares to serve.

Notes

Cold butter is a must. Be sure your butter is cold to get that amazing crumbly texture that makes the topping so yummy. You can even put the cubed butter in the freezer for about 5 minutes before you begin the recipe.
Use parchment paper. Line the baking pan with parchment paper to ensure that the bars don’t stick. Also, make sure you use enough so that it hangs over the edges. Doing this makes it so much easier to remove the bars.
Use fresh blueberries. For these simple bars, use fresh blueberries if they are in season. You can use frozen, but the fresh blueberries are a treat and burst in your mouth with each bite.
Bake until golden brown. Check your bars after 45 minutes of baking, but depending upon your oven it could take up to an hour to get a lovely golden brown color on the crumble.
Homemade blueberry bars can be stored in an airtight container for about 1 to 2 days at room temperature or for about 5 days in the fridge. To reheat, you can put them in the microwave for about 15 seconds or in the toaster oven for about 2 to 3 minutes.

Nutrition