Blueberry Crumb Bars
Oh-so-crumbly blueberry crumb bars bursting with fresh blueberries with a hint of refreshing lemon goodness!
I’ve had this blog for almost 2 years now and I realized that I really love being a food blogger for so many different reasons, like…
- I love how my life revolves around natural lighting.
- I love how I have to spend 20 minutes finding the perfect lemons as food props, only to have it blurred out in the final edits.
- I love taking 50+ photos of these blueberry bars, only to use 1 in the final post.
- I love having to taste test a dozen cookies, only to go work it off at the gym right afterwards.
- I love the epic fails in the kitchen, like forgetting the sugar in your cornbread, even though you made the same mistake a month ago.
- I love writing my posts past midnight and then having to polish it up the next morning because apparently there were about 10 sentences that made absolutely no sense but was perfectly clear to me the night before.
I’m sure you caught my sarcasm in there somewhere but my point is, food blogging is incredibly tough work but in the end, I love it. I really do. Every second of it. And I love it even more now that I’m part of The Leftovers Club.
See, my good friend Jen over at Savory Simple created this club as a way for food bloggers to connect and exchange our baked goods with one another. The only requirement is that it must be a sweet or savory baked treat with a good shelf life and can be easily shipped.
That being said, I couldn’t help but bring these blueberry crumb bars to the party.
These crumb bars have been on my culinary bucket list for at least a year now and I finally got around to it. I’m not sure why it took me so long to make these because it really was so simple to whip up. It doesn’t even require a mixer!
And these crumb bars are seriously the best – that crumbly topping with the crunchy turbinado sugar and the sandwich blueberries paired with the tart lemons… Yeah, it sure is a party in your mouth when you bite into these. And they’re perfectly acceptable breakfast food, letting you indulge just a tiny bit before starting your day! Now who wouldn’t want the leftovers of these babies?!
Blueberry Crumb Bars
Ingredients
- ¾ cup sugar, divided
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 cups blueberries
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 lemon
- ½ cup 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1 ½ tablespoons turbinado sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly coat an 8×8 baking dish with nonstick spray.
- In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup sugar and cornstarch. Stir in lemon juice. Add blueberries and gently toss to combine; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. Add egg yolk, vanilla, lemon zest and cold butter, using your fingers to work the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse crumbs.
- Spread 2/3 of the batter into the prepared baking dish. Spread blueberry mixture evenly over the bottom layer. Sprinkle with remaining 1/3 of the batter and turbinado sugar.
- Place into oven and bake until lightly browned, about 35-40 minutes. Let cool slightly before cutting into bars.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
I decided to give these a try for Mother’s Day. Unfortunately, my wife was not satisfied with the initial batch and was disappointed in me once again! The main issue is that you couldn’t taste anything besides butter. They looked amazing, and the texture was perfect, but you couldn’t taste the blueberries at all. In a desperate move to save my marriage, I made a 2nd batch and improvised on the recipe a bit by making 3 main adjustments:
1. I used 3/4 a stick of butter instead of an entire stick (6 tbsp)
2. I added 1 cup of blackberries on top of the 2 cups of blueberries the recipe calls for. I’m sure raspberries would work just as fine as well, but the purpose here was to add a bit more tartness so that you can taste the fruit.
3.We also added 2 teaspoons of lemon juice instead of 1 teaspoon to the berry mixture
With these adjustments, the recipe came out perfect. So much so in fact, that I am going to give these to my Mother-in-Law instead of my wife, because she is the ultimate boss in the family and her approval is more important.
Made these for Easter dessert with ice cream. I am not much of a baker, made the recipe exactly as written – these were super easy and delicious. Thank you!
So easy!!
Looks great!! Would I perhaps double the ingredients to do a 13×9 pan?
Yes, that should work!
I’m a perfectionist, and always adulterating every recipe, adding pinches of nutmeg or lemon zest or vanilla or even blueberry flavoring; but these blueberry crumb bars are the most delicious blueberry recipe I’ve ever baked. I make a blueberry cream cheese pie which is also delish, but these are sooo amazing, better than blueberry pie. Thank you for sharing this recipe!!!
So glad you liked them!
These are so good! I needed to use up some blueberries in my freezer and these were perfect! The changes I made were to use a gluten free flour mix, vegan butter and a zero calorie sweetener due to my food sensitivities. I was worried that the dough was too crumbly, but it was great! These are very tasty and I like that they aren’t too sweet, they’re like having a mini blueberry pie.
So, I saw these bars and had to try them because they look so yummy! I am very happy I did! YUM!
I picked a lot of blueberries during my vacation in Dalarna (Sweden) and this recipe was the first I wanted to try 🙂 I made some smaller alterations and they turned out damn delicious!
Had to write my own blog post about it and if you want to see my adapted recipe then head over to http://blog.ingredientmatcher.com/recipe-blueberry-crumb-bars-with-lemon/
All your receipts are great!! So yummy and easy to make! The pictures make you drool lol! Keep up the good work! You should have a cookbook.
Thank you for your recipe! During blueberries season I threw 2 cups of extra berries in the freezer. After letting them thaw overnight in the fridge I just used them to make your delicious looking recipe. Because my husband is diabetic, I substituted Truvia for 1/2 the sugar measurement. The prepared recipe now sitting in the fridge ready to put in the oven an hour before the grandchildren come over for warm Sunday Blueberry Bars, ice cream and games around my kitchen table. (Sorry super bowl fans, ha ha)
Loving your DELISH recipes!! I’m wondering since I have raspberries on hand if I could sub them for the blueberries. Would it cook the same? Or are raspberries too watery?
I’ve actually never tried it myself but I’m sure raspberries would be a great substitute!
Looks yummy! Any chance you have the nutritional information for these? Calories, etc…?
Amy, please use online resources such as Calorie Count to obtain nutritional information.
Hi! These look wonderful. Can blueberries be substituted for other in-season fruits, perhaps chopped coarsely?
Yes, absolutely! Strawberries, raspberries and peaches would be great in these.
I loved reading your post. No sarcasm there!!! lol These bars look fabulous and I can totally relate with your sentiments. 🙂
We made these blueberry bars last month and they really are damn delicious, what a wonderful recipe. The blueberries are a real winner, we are doing this again this weekend with raspberries. This is causing incredible fat loss for us.
http://recipetoloseweight.blogspot.com/2014/05/women-diet-and-loss-of-30-pounds-with.html