Buttery toppings and sweet pie fillings are a favorite dessert here at The Forked Spoon including Easy Lemon Bars, Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler with Honey Butter Biscuits and Blackberry and Blueberry Galette with Rosemary.
I keep going back and forth on how to properly start a post for the most amazing Blueberry Crumble Bars you will ever make in your whole life. Do I start with small talk first? Or just start talking about the food?
Since most (translation- all) of you are here for the food, let’s start there.
And with the basics.
INGREDIENTS IN THESE EAST BLUEBERRY CRUMB BARS
- Sugar
- Baking powder
- All-purpose flour
- Cold butter
- Eggs
- Lemons- juice and zest
- BLUEBERRIES
- Cornstarch
Definitely not diet food, but that’s ok. I mean, we’re not here for diet food today.
As far as flour goes, I used all-purpose flour. It’s like the white bread of flours and my personal preference for this particular recipe. That said, I suspect that these blueberry crumble bars would taste fantastic if you mixed the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour or almond flour.
FRESH OR FROZEN BLUEBERRIES?
I have two answers to this question-
- If you want the best, fresh, ripe blueberry flavor, then fresh in-season blueberries are ideal. You can’t gauge taste and ripeness when you purchase frozen blueberries. That said, it’s not always berry season.
- Cost. Big, beautiful, ripe, in-season berries are expensive. So, unless they grow wild in your backyard, making a single sheet of Blueberry Crumble Bars or a couple blueberry pies is expensive. For me, a person who already spends way too much on groceries, I am willing to compromise a teeny bit of flavor and use frozen berries.
So just in case you didn’t catch that, these Blueberry Crumble Bars shown here are made with frozen blueberries.
WHY THESE BLUEBERRY CRUMBLE BARS ARE SO FANTASTIC
- They are, quite honestly, the easiest thing you will ever make.
- They are super versatile. Meaning what exactly? If you don’t have blueberries, use what you’ve got on-hand or whatever’s in season.
- Blueberry crumb bars are easy to store and transport which makes them the perfect party or potluck treat!
- There is no need for fancy equipment when making these blueberry pie bars.
- Which reminds me…pie is a thing of the past thanks to these beauties.
If you do plan to share your beautiful blueberry crumb bars with friends and family and you plan to get all prepped and ready ahead of time, I HIGHLY recommend hiding them from everyone in your house. Actually, in the case of these bars, it’s just better to triple the recipe because unless you hate delicious blueberry pie, there is no way you’ll be able to keep these from even yourself.
And I know this. Because this happened to me.
Usually, it’s the husband’s fault when treats go missing, but in the case of these sweet and buttery bars, well… that was all me.
EQUIPMENT NEEDED TO MAKE THESE EASY BLUEBERRY CRUMB BARS
Are you ready for this super long list?
- Mixing bowls
- Parchment paper
- A 9×13-inch pan. I used THIS one from William-Sonoma and love love love it. Yes, the glue is a pain in the you-know-what to remove, but it does eventually come off.
>>FIND MORE DESSERT RECIPES HERE<<
Do you have any fun plans for the weekend?
After killing two black widows in our house this week I am on a mission to clean our house, top to bottom. I love to organize, but I hate cleaning, so this weekend should be a mix of highs and lows over in my casa. And now that Octavian is pretty much potty training himself, the toilets and bathrooms need to be clean at all times.
To be honest, now that the whole process has started, I’m kinda wishing it would stop. Changing diapers is annoying, yes, but so so convenient and…cleaner.
Little boys are gross and my child is no exception.
Sometimes I even wonder- how young is too young to make your kid clean the toilets? Is 2 years old too young?
Kidding!
What about 3?
IF YOU LOVE THESE EASY BLUEBERRY CRUMBLE BARS, YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY,
Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze
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BLUEBERRY CRUMBLE BARS
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cold unsalted butter ((2 sticks))
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 lemons zested
- 2 lemons juiced
- 5 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 4 tsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and grease a 9x13 inch baking pan (I also lined my pan with parchment paper for easy transfer and cutting).
- In a large bowl, mix together the 3 cups of flour, 1 cup of sugar and baking powder. Mix in salt and lemon zest. Using a large fork or pastry cutter, blend the butter and egg into the flour (you could also do this is a food processor, but be careful to slowly pulse until just incorporated). The dough will be very crumbly. Transfer half the dough to your prepared pan and pat firmly until crust is uniform.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Mix in the blueberries. Transfer the blueberry mixture over the top of the prepared crust. Finally, crumble remaining dough over the top of the berry layer.
- Bake in preheated oven for approximately 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Remove from the oven and allow bars to cool completely before cutting into squares, or, better yet, store in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving (it makes slicing a breeze and, in my opinion, they are best cold).
Nutrition
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)
HI,
SO….these are fabulous BUT…you definitely need to thaw, drain and ‘dry’ frozen berries. I did not do this and I ended up with ‘soup’ a la blueberry crumble, LOL. I should have known better. If you think about adding a mixture of sugar, cornstarch and lemon to anything frozen, it just doesn’t work. I cannot wait to try these again, I know they will be marvelous. The topping was slightly browned and the flavor was delicious….just need to thaw and drain those berries beforehand. Thanks for an awesome recipe.
Need more butter for the crumble topping
Easy to make and tastes wonderful. I only had a bit more than 4 cups of blueberries and it still turned out really good. I’m sure 5cups would have put it over the top 😊
Hi!
If using frozen blueberries should you thaw them first? Thanks!
Hi Kim,
I don’t believe thawing is necessary.
I have all the ingredients except the lemons. Could I use the bottled lemon juice instead? Don’t really want to run into town to buy a couple lemons, unless you highly recommend I should. Lol Thanks!
Hi Sheree, this is a great question. Given that this recipe calls for both lemon juice and lemon zest, I would recommend trying to get your hands on a couple of lemons for best results (the fresh lemon, blueberry, and butter combo is really nice). However, you can always give it a try with bottled lemon juice. It won’t change the overall texture, just the flavor a bit. Hope that helps 🙂
How are these bars best stored???
These turned out AMAZING!!!!!
Hi Bailey,
I am glad you enjoyed them! I generally put it in airtight Tupperware/containers and place them in the refrigerator.
I’m almost crying at how beautiful these are. Seriously, these bars are prettier than me. And I’m totally okay with that, because they look so stinking delicious. I cannot wait to try these!