A buttery shortbread-like base, juicy blueberry filling & crumbly crumble topping – these Blueberry Crumble Bars are so easy & delicious
This past weekend I went for a walk and finally felt sun on my face. It was a glimmer of spring. A small piece of hope. Like realizing there’s another cup of coffee in the pot, or finding a secret bottle of wine in your cupboard. And while the spring feeling didn’t motivate me to do any spring cleaning – I was inspired to start baking.
Because you shouldn’t celebrate spring by punishing yourself with household chores any ways.
Instead you should make Blueberry Crumble Bars. They have a buttery shortbread-esque base, a layer of juicy blueberries with a hint of lemon, and a crunchy crumble topping. It’s springtime in delicious blueberry crumble form – and completely delicious for breakfast or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert.
Plus, they only take about 10 minutes to make & there’s no need to dirty an electric mixer. So you’re proactively spring cleaning by minimizing dish cleanup.
This recipe is based off of Deb Perelman’s Blueberry Crumb Bars from Smitten Kitchen. I’m in love with her recipes & writing – and I’ve never gone wrong with anything from her site. The main things were changing here though is the ratio of butter to flour to create a more buttery & shortbread-like base, then creating a little more crumbliness to the topping with the addition of brown sugar.
What you’ll also love about these bars is that they’re seriously easy to make. And I don’t say that lightly. First your whisk together some flour, sugar & baking powder in a bowl, then cut in the butter & egg yolk using a pastry cutter or fork.
You’ll notice I say COLD butter here as opposed to room temperature. Crumbles, shortbreads & scones often call for cold butter because when baking the butter creates steam pockets – which leads to flakier, crumblier goods. Exactly what we’re looking for in crumb bars. The batter will feel sandy and crumbly.
You’ll then press about ⅔ to ¾ of the batter into your pan, and layer with the blueberry mixture. To add a little more crunch & flavor to the crumble for the top layer, we’ll then mix in a little extra sugar to the remaining flour & butter mixture then crumble on top.
The bars will bake for about 45 minutes, and when you take them out of the oven you should see the berries bubbling and the top crumble layer will be getting slightly golden in color. My only real trick here is to wait for the bars to fully cool before slicing. Coming from someone that’s as impatient as a 5 year old – I know it’s hard. But I also know that cutting into your Blueberry Crumble Bars while they’re still warm causes a big blueberry mess. So please follow this not-so-simple tip.
Seriously – the combo of blueberries, lemon & buttery crumble is springtime deliciousness. Even if there’s still snow on the ground, my wardrobe has zero pastels & my apartment is still as messy as it was on January 1st.
If you love these blueberry crumble bars, try these other favorites:
Blueberry Crumble Bars
Ingredients
For the Blueberry Layer
- 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice , don't use bottle lemon juice - it's too tart
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
For the Bottom Lay & Top Crumble
- 1 and ¼ cup all-purpose flour , spooned & leveled
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter , cold (½ cup plus 2 tablespoons)
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F degrees. Line an 8x8 inch square baking pan with aluminium foil and grease with butter.
- In a medium bowl toss together the ingredients for the blueberry layer (blueberries, cornstarch, lemon zest, lemon juice & sugar). Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl whisk together the flour, ½ cup granulated sugar & baking powder.
- Cut in the butter & egg yolk using a pastry cutter or fork until the mixture is crumbly and resembles wet sand.
- Press about two thirds to three quarters of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Pour the blueberry mixture over top.
- To the remaining flour mixture, stir in the brown sugar and remaining 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar.
- Crumble the remaining dough over the blueberry mixture by squeezing it in a fist with your hand, then crumbling it over top.
- Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes, until you see the blueberries bubbling and the crumble layer starting to turn golden.
- Allow to cool fully to room temperature (about 3-4 hours) . Then lift the bars out of the pan using the aluminium foil overhang and cut into squares.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Lucy @ Globe Scoffers recipes
I love blueberries and eat them most days. These look delicious and I can’t wait to try making them. ?
Fiona
Thanks Lucy! Let me know what you think of the recipe 🙂
Carmella
Wow, these look delicious! I’ve learned (the hard way) that letting most baked goods rest before cutting into them is the best thing to do. But so tough 🙁
Fiona
The struggle is real!!!
Shelly
OMG!!! My family and I went blueberry picking this past weekend and I used our fresh picked blueberries to make this dessert and OH…MY….GOSH!!!!
This is amazing!!! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe. I will be making this again for sure!
Fiona
I’m so glad you liked them – Going blueberry picking would be so much fun!
M.Dowling
We look forward to trying them Will let you know I am sure they will be delicious M. and B .
Fiona
I hope you like them- let me know what you think!
Vicki Wilson
Can I use canned blueberry pie filling since I have some on hand?
Fiona
I haven’t tried making these with blueberry pie filling – so I’m not sure of the results. If you try it out – let me know how it goes!
Ashley
Did you try this with the filling? I opened a can for another recipe and am looking for a way to use the rest up!
Ellen
This is delicious and I followed the directions to the letter. However, next time I make these, I believe I’ll bake the bottom layer about 10 minutes before adding the blueberries or crumble -just needed a bit more time to help the crust reach a consistent doneness. Other than that, yummy!
Fiona
So glad you liked the recipe Ellen! Baking the base layer first should result in a crisper crust – let me know how it goes!
Julie
Just made, very good and easy… The only thing is that they stuck to the tinfoil.. And I even sprayed it… Do you think parchment paper would do better?? I will try next time… Thanks for the receipe..
Fiona
So glad you liked the recipe! I’d try with parchment to reduce sticking to the tinfoil. When the berries bubble, it can be tricky for them not to stick to the tinfoil
Desiree
Very yummy! I followed the directions except the sugar/brown sugar combination for the topping I used brown sugar and Turbinado sugar because the Turbinado sugar crystals are larger and made it crunchier. She’s right too, WAIT FOR IT TO COOL COMPLETELY before you cut it! It’ll be worth it! Also, next time I’m going to pack the bottom layer in better. I dont’ think I pressed it to pack it tightly enough but it still cut well. I think packing it makes it more solid and better to hold after cutting. Making this again soon!
Fiona
So glad you liked the recipe! I’ll need to try with Turbinado sugar the next time 🙂
Staci
Can you use something other than blueberries? Like raspberries? Or strawberries?
Fiona
Hi Staci,
If you’re looking for Strawberry Crumb Bars – you could try this recipe instead:http://www.justsotasty.com/strawberry-crumb-bars/ I’m not sure if a straight substitution of blueberries for raspberries would work, since raspberries tend to have more liquid. If you wanted to try it though, I’d suggest baking the bottom layer for 15 minutes first, then adding the raspberries and top crumb layer and continuing baking for the remainder of the time.
Kai
It was exactly how I envisioned a crumble bar to taste and look like! I used cranberries in place of blueberries and it worked out great, although it ended up a bit sour (I should of known better to omit the lemon with an already sour fruit -_-). Also I doubled the recipe and used a 9×13 cake pan and it came out perfectly. Thank you for the recipe, will be making more in the future!