Blueberry Crumb Bars

I know we’re a little early bringing you fruity summer desserts before you can actually find splendidly delicious fresh local fruit (can you tell I'm excited?), but I really couldn’t wait any longer. These blueberry bars are fantastic. If you don’t have any fresh blueberries on hand, frozen ones will also do (though our blueberries thawed a little more than they should have, turning our crust a lovely shade of purple. If you keep the berries fairly frozen, this shouldn’t happen). We also loved the subtle hint of lemon. If you like a strong lemon flavor, use all the zest and lemon juice. These are best served at room temperature. I know- it will be hard to wait for them to cool, but it will be well worth it.



Blueberry Crumb Bars
Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com
Pictures by Caroline

1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup butter, chilled and cut into pieces
1 egg
1-2 tablespoons lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
2-4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1/4 teaspoon salt

5 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Grease a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. Use pastry cutter or your fingers to blend in the butter and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.
3. In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.
4. Bake 35-40 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.