Blueberry Crumb Bars

Close up of blueberry square on small white speckled plate.

Blueberry crumb bars made with real blueberry pie filling and buttery shortbread crust. Quick and easy to make, use fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries.

Course Desserts

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 45

Total Time 55

Servings people

Calories 388kcal

Author Jessica Robinson

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups (2 ½ sticks) unsalted butter softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract

Blueberry filling

4-5 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
½ cup granulated sugar (adjust sugar as needed)
¼ cup (½ stick) butter
¼ cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ cup cold water

Instructions

Blueberry filling

Add the blueberries into a large saucepan or medium Dutch oven and cook over medium heat. Add the butter, sugar and lemon juice. Cook until soft, stirring with a wooden or high heat spoon occasionally.
Dissolve the cornstarch into cold water, stir with a spoon. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the blueberry mixture. Cook over medium heat to thicken. Let the mixture simmer and stir with a wooden or high heat spoon as it thickens. (Note: pie filling will thicken as it cools – so don’t overcook it!)
Remove the pie filling from the heat and let cool. It can be prepped ahead and refrigerated overnight. Let it cool completely before adding to the crumb bars.

Blueberry crumb bars

Preheat the oven to 350-degrees F. Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
Add the vanilla extract, almond extract, flour, salt, and baking powder and stir to combine. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula. The mixture will look like crumbs, but hold together when you pinch it with your fingers.
Press ¾ of the shortbread mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.
Spread the blueberry pie filling over the bottom layer.
Use your hands to evenly distribute the reserved crumb mixture over the blueberry pie filling layer.
Bake for about 45-50 minutes or until lightly golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Cool completely before cutting into bars.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days, or in the refrigerator.

Notes

Fresh or frozen blueberries work great for this recipe. Find frozen wild blueberries in the freezer section at Walmart, wholesale clubs or local grocery stores.

Be sure and turn the baking pan 180-degrees about half way through baking. That ensures it will brown evenly.

Nutrition