If the beautiful weather this past weekend has you thinking of summer, this recipe is for you! Even though it’s technically still spring, blueberries are already in season, so who could resist using them to bake an easy and delicious snack? If you have never baked anything before, these blueberry crumb bars are a great place to start. The recipe essentially consists of mixing things together and layering them to create pure bliss – nothing too technical there. The ingredients are also very easy to come by (in fact, it is highly likely that you will already have the majority of them in your own kitchen), so there’s no reason not to whip these up for an end-of-spring-quarter picnic on the Lakefill!
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Servings: around 36 bars (depending on size)
Ingredients:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cold unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest and juice of one lemon
4 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 9×13 inch pan.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour and 1 teaspoon baking powder. Mix in salt and lemon zest. To zest the lemon, use a fine cheese grater or a vegetable peeler and chop fine.
3. Use a fork or a pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. Cubing the butter before you add it to the bowl and using your hands to break it down helps a lot. Dough will be crumbly.
4. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.
Photo by Alia Wilhelm
5. In another bowl, stir 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries.
6. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.
Photo by Alia Wilhelm
7. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. This will vary if you use a different sized pan.
Photo by Alia Wilhelm
8. Cool completely before cutting into bars of your preference. You can even pop the pan in the refrigerator before cutting to speed up the cooling process.
Photo by Alia Wilhelm