Thursday, July 18, 2013

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.)

11 comments:

  1. Oh, I love blueberry ANYTHING! You are fortunate in having a source for the fresh berries, and these bars look delicious. Especially with that glass of tea. Thanks for sharing your tweaked recipe with us.

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  2. These look wonderful - I am going to print this out at work! They look so good!

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  3. I'll take your word for it Angela that they are as good as they look. Thanks for sharing.
    Judith

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  4. Oh wonderful! The blueberries have just come in here, and are my favorite! I am into all things blueberry at the moment, so these are perfect!
    Ruth

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  5. And I am going out today to pick blueberries. Oh my, but a temptation here. They look delicious!

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  6. Oh my gosh.

    I absolutely must make these.

    Oh my GOSH! They look so good and I loooooooove blueberry pie, so this may be a really excellent item to make - nice when you can freeze half, too.

    Your parents will be thrilled.

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  7. These look wonderful. Our wild blackberries are coming in so I may tweak your recipe a bit.

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  8. Also, I enjoy strawberry Something! You might be lucky in having an origin for the refreshing berries, and the cafes look scrumptious. Especially with that will goblet associated with herbal tea. Thanks for revealing the improved formula here.
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  9. That is a plate full of summer!

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  10. You share the neatest recipes! This looks like a winner in my book. I absolutely love blueberries, and I just bought a large container of them. Guess I know what to do with them!

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  11. I love blueberries and know I would really like these bars - thanks for the recipe.

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