That includes a juicy blueberry filling and a buttery, crumbly brown sugar streusel, there’s a lot to like about these blueberry pie bars. The filling and streusel come collectively rapidly, and the crust and crumble topping are made out of the identical combination, so there’s no must soiled a further bowl. They’re straightforward to make, transport, serve, and freeze!
In case you love blueberry crumble pie, however making pie crust from scratch intimidates you, this blueberry pie bar recipe is the reply. You’ll get the identical scrumptious flavors, however with the welcome ease of constructing a single “dough” that turns into each crust and topping—no finicky pie crust chilling, shaping, or latticing right this moment!
These Blueberry Pie Bars Are:
- Scrumptious made with both recent or frozen blueberries
- Faster than many fruit fillings—no pitting, peeling, or chopping!
- Simpler than pie—crust & topping made out of the identical 1-bowl combination
- Tremendous flavorful, with a jammy blueberry filling between layers of buttery brown sugar oat crust
- An ideal make-ahead dessert
- One other egg-free baking recipe
- Simple to move, slice, serve, and freeze!
Seize Your Blueberry Pie Bars Elements
That is every part you want for juicy blueberry bar perfection:
Crust & Topping Made From Similar Combination
This step actually couldn’t be simpler. You want 1 bowl and a spatula (no mixer required!), and also you’ll use this dough for each the crust and the crumble topping.
- All-Objective Flour: Flour is the bottom of the crust/crumble.
- Oats: Be happy to make use of both entire rolled oats or fast oats right here. Reserve 2 Tablespoons of oats so as to add to the crumble topping earlier than sprinkling it on prime of the blueberry pie filling.
- Brown Sugar: I like utilizing brown sugar in a dough/crumble like this, due to the moisture and taste it offers.
- Baking Powder: Baking powder retains the crust/crumble on the lighter aspect. With out it, the feel can be a bit of too onerous and dense.
- Salt, Cinnamon, & Lemon Zest: Small quantities however undoubtedly mandatory for flavorful bars. The lemon zest brightens up the blueberry taste, and a contact of cinnamon provides a heat that’s harking back to home made pie, like apple pie.
- Melted Butter: Utilizing melted butter makes this a stir-by-hand combination (similar to these chewy chocolate chip cookies!). It binds the components collectively and offers essentially the most scrumptious buttery taste. Y-U-M.
Stir every part collectively till it’s fashioned massive crumbles, with no visibly dry components. Reserve about 1/3 of this combination to make use of because the crumble topping, and press the remaining 2/3 right into a 9-inch-square baking pan lined with parchment paper (which makes the bars straightforward to raise out and slice).
Success Tip: Right here’s a neat strategy to line sq. baking pans.
Bake the crust for 10 minutes, to provide it a head-start earlier than you prime it with the filling. Whereas the crust bakes, make the filling.
Blueberry Pie Bar Filling
Seize these 4 components:
- Blueberries: You want about 4 and 1/2 cups of recent or frozen blueberries. If utilizing recent, give them a rinse; if utilizing frozen, no must thaw.
- Granulated Sugar: Simply sufficient to sweeten the berry filling.
- Cornstarch: That is the thickening agent that works to set the filling, and make these blueberry pie bars completely sliceable. It’s important in basic blueberry pie, too.
- Lemon: Zest it first, after which juice it—you want each zest and juice within the filling. The recent lemon brightens up the flavour. With out it, the blueberry filling tastes a bit… meh. (And we don’t have time for meh desserts!)
Stir many of the components collectively on the range for only a couple minutes, to start dissolving the sugar and cornstarch. Prepare dinner and stir solely till the berries are coated and look evenly moist. This doesn’t take lengthy—we’re not going for blueberry sauce right here! After you’re taking it off the warmth, stir within the lemon zest.
Pour the filling over the pre-baked crust. Stir a further 2 Tablespoons of oats into the remaining crumble combination, to provide it a bit of further quantity. Then sprinkle the topping all around the blueberry filling.
Now comes the toughest a part of this recipe: the ready. The bars must bake for 45-55 minutes, after which cool fully earlier than you’ll be able to slice them. I do know, I’m sorry!
One silver lining: it is a nice make-ahead recipe!
How you can Reduce Neat Squares
Cool baked bars fully, similar to you’ll let a pie cool fully. In case you minimize the bars into squares whereas they’re nonetheless heat, they’ll fully disintegrate. If I’m serving these at a celebration or occasion, I put together them the evening earlier than simply so I do know they’ll cool lengthy sufficient to yield neat squares.
Elevate the bars out of the pan utilizing the perimeters of the parchment paper lining and place the entire thing on a slicing board. Slice squares with a pointy knife and wipe the knife clear between every minimize.
Serving Blueberry Pie Bars
I like the hand-held nature of dessert bars, however keep in mind, these are blueberry pie bars. They’re gooey, juicy, crumbly, and a bit messy. So I do advocate a fork and plate… or at the least a plate and a serviette. Until you’re prepared to threat purple-stained fingers and clothes! *Sally’s Baking Recipes just isn’t chargeable for blueberry stains.*
These bars are scrumptious served chilly or room temperature, or heat one up and prime with vanilla ice cream for an à la mode expertise! You can even prime them with whipped cream, or a drizzle of lemon glaze from this recipe for lemon strawberry crumb bars.
Extra Fruit Crumb Bar Recipes
Blueberry Pie Bars Recipe
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Prepare dinner Time: 50 minutes
Complete Time: 4 hours, quarter-hour (consists of cooling)
Yield: 16 bars
Class: Bars
Methodology: Baking
Delicacies: American
Description
That is blueberry pie with out the trouble of constructing a home made pie crust! To arrange these straightforward blueberry pie bars, layer a buttery brown sugar crust, jammy blueberry filling, and a crumbly oat topping. The crust and crumble topping are made out of the identical combination, so there’s no must soiled a further bowl. Cool fully earlier than slicing.
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 9-inch sq. baking pan (I like this one and this one) with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the perimeters to simply raise the bars out of the pan. Put aside.
- Make the crust: Whisk the flour, 1 cup (85g) oats, brown sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, cinnamon, and salt collectively in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter and stir till the combination resembles moist crumbly sand and no dry spots stay. You should have a bit of greater than 3 cups of crust combination, or about 520g. Press 2/3 of the combination (about 2 cups/345g—doesn’t must be precise) into the ready baking pan. Press it into the pan along with your palms, a big spoon or spatula, or the underside of a measuring cup to type a crust. Bake for 10 minutes, after which take away from the oven to barely cool.
- Make the filling: Place the blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice in a saucepan over medium warmth on the range and stir gently to mix. Prepare dinner and stir for two–3 minutes till the cornstarch and sugar start to dissolve and the berries look evenly moist. Take away from warmth and stir within the lemon zest.
- Pour/unfold the filling over the nice and cozy crust. Stir 2 Tablespoons oats into the remaining crumble combination, then sprinkle it all around the filling, and evenly press it down with the again of a giant spoon or flat spatula.
- Bake for about 45-55 minutes, or till the highest is evenly browned and the blueberry filling is effervescent across the edges.
- Take away from the oven and permit the bars to chill fully within the pan set on a wire rack. Be happy to cowl and refrigerate the cooled bars for as much as 1 day earlier than slicing into squares.
- Elevate the cooled bars out of the pan utilizing the overhang on the perimeters and minimize into squares.
- Cowl and retailer leftover blueberry pie bars at room temperature for as much as 2 days or within the fridge for as much as 1 week.
Notes
- Make Forward & Freezing Directions: You may refrigerate the cooled bars earlier than slicing into squares, see step 6. Baked and cooled bars freeze nicely as much as 3 months. Thaw in a single day within the fridge and produce to room temperature, if desired, earlier than serving.
- Particular Instruments (affiliate hyperlinks): 9-Inch Sq. Baking Pan or this 9-Inch Sq. Baking Pan | Glass Mixing Bowl | Citrus Zester | Citrus Juicer
- Replace in 2023: This recipe used to name for 3 cups of blueberries within the filling, and 1 peeled and sliced apple. To make the blueberry apple model, observe the recipe directions above by way of step 3. After spreading blueberry filling onto the nice and cozy crust in step 4, prime evenly with sliced apple, after which sprinkle remaining crumble combination on prime. Proceed with the recipe as written.
Key phrases: blueberry pie bars