Health News

Blueberry Pie Bars – A Couple Cooks

by Trafalgar

These blueberry bars taste like blueberry pie or crisp: in handheld form! They’re sweet and jammy, topped with buttery crumbles.

Blueberry bars

There’s something about the bars that are so homey and appealing (especially if you’re from the Midwest like us!). Introducing Blueberry Pie Bars: all the flavors of blueberry pie in handheld form! These are so simple and satisfying! The same dough makes a thick bottom crust and golden buttery crumbles, and the filling is a bright burst of fresh blueberries and lemon juice. Everyone loves this summer dessert: they’re thick with just the right chewy texture.

Ingredients in blueberry bars

These blueberry bars follow the formula of a typical fruit crumble bar: the same dough is used for the crust and crumble! It makes it simple and you only need a short list of ingredients to put them together. The fresh blueberry filling seals the deal, with just the right amount of lemon to make the flavor pop (it’s required, in our opinion!). Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Blueberries
  • All-purpose flour
  • Light brown sugar
  • Granulated sugar
  • Rolled oats
  • Salt
  • butter
  • Cornstarch
  • Lemon juice
  • Vanilla extract
Blueberry pie bars

Can you use frozen blueberries?

Want to use frozen berries instead of fresh? You can! Pies and bars are a great place to use frozen berries because they need to be broken down to make a jammy filling.

Full disclosure: we have not tested frozen blueberries specifically in these bars. However, frozen berries work similarly to fresh berries in our blueberry sauce, which is the same basic concept as this filling. So, we feel confident sharing that this substitution will work! Let us know if you try this with frozen berries in the comments below.

Blueberry bars

Tips for blueberry bars

Blueberry pie bars are actually more like a blueberry crumble with a bottom crust! They’re simple to make, but there are a few things to note about the process. Here’s what to know:

  • Grease the pan, then line the pan with parchment paper. This makes them easy to remove from the pan, because the blueberry filling can get a little sticky! Cut the parchment so that it extends on two sides to easily remove it from the pan. Greasing the entire pan helps the parchment stick to the bottom.
  • Allow the bars to cool 30 minutes, then refrigerate 1 hour. This lets the texture set, firming it up so it’s the ideal texture for eating. Once you’ve refrigerated for 1 hour, you can easily cut them into 16 squares.

Information storage

How to store these blueberry pie bars once you’ve baked them up? If you stack them, make sure to store them with parchment paper between each layer so they don’t stick to each other. Then, place them in an airtight container and you can store them for:

  • 3 days at room temperature
  • 2 weeks refrigerated
  • 3 months frozen
Blueberry bars

More blueberry recipes

Blueberries are our one of our favorite fruits to use in the kitchen! Here are a few more great blueberry recipes to use them:

This blueberry pie bar recipe is…

Vegetarian.

Print

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Description

These blueberry bars taste like blueberry pie or crisp: in handheld form! They’re sweet and jammy, topped with buttery crumbles.

  • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 12 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 cups (18 ounces) fresh blueberries (or substitute frozen*)
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • ½ tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter 9 x 9 baking dish. Line the pan with a piece of parchment paper, cut so that it extends on two sides to easily remove it from the pan.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, oats, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or fork. As it incorporates, use fingers to knead until it becomes an even, consistent dough with no more dry bits of flour (this takes a while, so be patient!). Use your fingers to crumble it into small crumbles and measure out 1 ¾ cup for the topping.
  3. Pour the remaining crumbles into the prepared pan, and press it into an even layer for the crust of the bars. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to press the dough in and make it flat and even.
  4. In a medium bowl, mix the blueberries, granulated sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Spread them in an even layer over the crust.
  5. Add the reserved crumbles over the top in an even layer.
  6. Bake for 1 hour, until the edges are golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a cooling rack for 30 minutes. Then transfer to the refrigerator and for 1 hour. Remove from the fridge and use the parchment to remove the bars from the pan. Cut into 16 even squares. Store bars up to 1 week refrigerated (with parchment paper between the layers if stacked), or 3 months frozen.

Notes

*We haven’t tested this recipe with frozen berries, but it should work similarly to fresh.

  • Categories: Desserts
  • Methods: Baked
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Keywords: Blueberry bars, blueberry pie bars