A new teatime treat: Blueberry Crumb Bars

Tweaking recipes seems to be a universal urge, and I am often tempted to change an ingredient or two these days. With the blueberry crop still coming in at my parents' house, I have been loaded up with fresh blueberries and went in search of a blueberry bar recipe I saw a while back. The one I used was for these Blueberry Crumb Bars shared on the Smitten Kitchen blog. She found the recipe on Allrecipes.com and tweaked it to her liking. I, in turn, have taken her recipe and tweaked it a little myself!

Smitten Kitchen's recipe calls for lemon zest and lemon juice, but having recently made Zesty Lemon Blueberry Muffins, I didn't want lemon in these bars. So, I substituted vanilla and water for the lemon juice, and oh my stars, I could eat the whole pan of these things. They. Are. Dangerous! That's why I stuck half of them in the freezer to take back to my parents as a thank-you for the blueberries.

These really are sort of like Bar-Cookie-Meets-Blueberry-Cobbler. If that appeals to you as it did me, here's how I made them. (Best enjoyed, if I do say so, with a tall glass of Black Cherry Berry iced tea!)

Blueberry Crumb Bars
(Adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

1-1/2 cups sugar, divided use
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon water
4 teaspoons cornstarch
4 cups fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and prepare a 9 × 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

In large bowl, combine 1 cup of the sugar, baking powder, flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter and egg. Make sure dough has pea-sized crumbs because you don't want it to be too smooth. Pour half of dough into pan and pat down.

In another large bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla, water and cornstarch. Add blueberries and stir just until the sugar mixture has covered all the berries. Spread blueberry mixture over crust, then top with remaining dough and smooth. Bake 45 minutes or until top begins to brown. Cool on wire rack and then cut into squares. (Drooling is optional.)