Why I chose this recipe:
If you haven’t guessed already, I love to bake. Thank goodness I married a man with a huge sweet tooth and thank goodness I have neighbors who love having sweet treats dropped on their doorstep weekly.
As my husband’s blueberry bushes start to produce, it focuses my baking obsession just a bit. Blueberries can be delicious or, if not in season, they can be somewhat tasteless. When they are in season, I use them as much as possible in my baking. You can even freeze the “in season” berries and use them all year long, if stored in an airtight container in the freezer.
These Blueberry Crumb Bars combine our commitment to blueberries with our love of crumb topping. Freshly baked berries topped with brown sugar, oats and butter is yummy. When you take this combination and put it into a bar format for easy access and eating, it creates a special treat for any occasion that allows you to .
Crust Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup (packed) brown sugar
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cut into cubes
Crumb Topping Ingredients
2 cups crust mixture, plus
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup oatmeal
Filling Ingredients
3 cups fresh blueberries
1 cup blueberry preserves
1 Tbsp flour
1 tsp finely grated lemon peel
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Line 13×9 pan with aluminum foil. Spray with cooking spray.
Whisk flour, oats, sugar, salt and cinnamon in stand mixer with whisk attachment.
Add 1 cup butter pieces.
Mix until mixture sticks together in small clumps.
Transfer 2 cups of the mixture to a medium bowl for crumb topping and add the extra brown sugar and oatmeal. Set this mixture aside.
Press remaining crumb mixture evenly onto bottom of prepared pan.
Bake crust until golden brown, approximately 22 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before adding filling.
For the filling, mix all ingredients in medium bowl.
Spread evenly over prepared crust.
Sprinkle reserved crumb topping over filling.
Bake bars until filling bubbles thickly at edges and topping is golden brown, approx. 40 mins.
Cool in pan on rack.
Once cool, place in refrigerator for 2-4 hours before cutting.
Once cold, take out of pan with aluminum foil, remove aluminum foil and cut into squares.