Blueberry Crumb Bars

With a buttery crust and a hint of lemon, these blueberry crumb bars are the perfect way to use beautiful fresh blueberries.

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Longtime readers will know how much I adore blueberries. Fresh out of the container, in my cereal, and especially baked into yummy desserts. Throw in some lemon and I’m one happy girl.

There’s a reason why I love blueberry french toast casserole, blueberry lemonade, and lemon blueberry bread so much! I really can’t get enough of that blueberry-lemon combo.

And these blueberry crumb bars are no exception. They’ll be the perfect way to use summer-ripe blueberries once they start popping up at the farmers’ market. But until then, frozen blueberries work just as great in this recipe.

These bars are delish for breakfast with a cup of coffee, as dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or as an afternoon pick-me-up with an iced shaken espresso. They’re truly an anytime-of-day baked good.

They also travel well, so they’re perfect for taking along to all of your upcoming summer barbecues! 

How to make blueberry crumb bars

These blueberry crumb bars come together easily thanks to your food processor. If you’ve made my pecan bars, then you’re used to using a food processor to make crusts like this a snap! 

Ingredients you’ll need

The crust for these blueberry crumb bars serves as both the base and the crumb topping. To make the crust, you will need:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Before you start baking, make sure you know how to measure flour correctly so that your bars turn out perfect every time. 

I love adding lemon zest to the crust to give the blueberry bars a bit of bright lemony flavor. You will need about 2 lemons to get 2 teaspoons of zest.

For the blueberry filling, you will need:

• 4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

You can use fresh or frozen blueberries in this recipe. If you’re using frozen berries, you can thaw them or leave them frozen; it really doesn’t make a difference for how the final bars turn out.

Making this recipe

To start, make the crust for these blueberry crumb bars.

Grab a food processor and add the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. Pulse this mixture a few times to combine everything.

Now add the butter pieces and pulse 10-12 times; the mixture should resemble coarse meal with a few pea-sized pieces of butter throughout.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and the vanilla. With the food processor running, stream in this mixture. Once the egg has been added, let the food processor run for just a few more seconds to finish combining everything.

The dough will be really crumbly, but should hold together when you squeeze it in your hand.

Add just over half of the dough mixture to a 9×13-inch pan that has been greased and lined with parchment paper. Use your hands or the bottom of a glass or measuring cup to press the dough firmly into the bottom of the pan.

Bake the crust at 375°F for 10 minutes, until the edges are golden and the center is just set.

While the crust bakes, stir together the blueberries, sugar, and cornstarch. Spread this mixture evenly over the baked crust, then sprinkle on the remaining dough.

If you want some larger crumbs on the top, squeeze some of the dough together in your hands as you add it over the berry layer.

Bake the bars for 35-40 minutes, or until the crumb topping is lightly golden and the fruit is bubbly around the edges.

Let the blueberry crumb bars cool completely before cutting and serving.

Blueberry crumb bar storage and freezing

Store blueberry crumb bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

If storing in the fridge, allow the bars to come to room temperature before serving. Or you can microwave bars for about 30 seconds to warm them through before enjoying.

To freeze, place the bars in an airtight container with parchment paper between layers. Freeze for up to a month.

Allow the bars to thaw on the counter for a couple of hours before enjoying.

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Save Recipe

Blueberry Crumb Bars

By: Jamie

No ratings yet

Prep: 20 minutes mins

Cook: 40 minutes mins

Servings: 12

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With a buttery crust and a hint of lemon, these blueberry crumb bars are the perfect way to use beautiful fresh blueberries.

Equipment

• Nordic Ware Metal 9×13 Covered Cake Pan
• Food Processor

Ingredients

1x2x3x

US CustomaryMetric

For the crust:

• ▢ 3 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ▢ 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• ▢ 1 cup unsalted butter cold, cut into pieces
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the filling:

• ▢ 4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
• ▢ ½ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray (1) 9×13-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. Pulse a few times to combine.
• Add the butter pieces to the flour mixture; pulse 10-12 times, until the mixture resembles coarse meal with some pea-sized pieces of butter throughout.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and vanilla. With the food processor running, stream in the egg mixture. Let the food processor run for a couple of seconds after the egg has all been added to finish incorporating. The dough will be very crumbly, but should hold together when you squeeze it in your hand.
• Transfer just over half of the dough mixture to the prepared baking pan. Use your hands and/or the bottom of a glass or measuring cup to press the dough into an even layer in the bottom of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the center is just set.
• In a large bowl, stir together the blueberries, sugar, and cornstarch. Spread this mixture evenly over the baked crust. Sprinkle the remaining dough evenly over the blueberries; for larger crumbs, squeeze some of the dough together in your hands as you add it to the pan.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the top is lightly golden and the fruit is bubbly around the edges. Allow to cool completely in the pan before cutting into squares and serving.

Notes

If using frozen blueberries, you can leave them frozen or thaw them first.

Adapted from allrecipes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bar, Calories: 383kcal, Carbohydrates: 57g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 16g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 54mg, Sodium: 141mg, Potassium: 83mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 30g, Vitamin A: 520IU, Vitamin C: 5mg, Calcium: 35mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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