Berry Crumble Bars

I've made blueberry crumb bars a number of times and although they were always very tasty I knew there was something that I wanted to be different about them.

These berry crumble bars are made with a mixture of blueberries and raspberries but the most successful tweak that I made to the recipe was to replace part of the flour with graham cracker crumbs.

The graham cracker crumbs add a lot of extra flavor to the crust and topping and help the bars keep a bit of crispiness in their crumble even after being refrigerated.

 

Another step that I added is a favorite trick I picked up from a daring baker member: grate chilled butter and then freeze the grated butter. Whenever a recipe calls for a pastry cutter or to cut the butter into the flour I just grate the butter up and freeze it. It makes it really easy to work into the flour without melting the butter and it creates a great texture.

For this recipe the grated butter is worked into the four (I just used my hands) until the mixture is well combined and crumbly with no bits of butter left showing. It won't be like a dough, it looks more like a big bowl of floury crumbs

 

Half of the crumb mixture is patted firmly down into a greased baking pan ...

 

and then topped with a mixture of blueberries, raspberries, sugar, lemon zest, and corn starch. Then  the remaining crumb mixture is sprinkled on top and the bars are baked for about 45 minutes

 

I made a big batch of these to take to the farm but only about half the bars made it there because the other half of the batch became after-bar snacks and breakfast.  Putting the bars together took no time at all and we were rewarded with buttery, crispy-on-the-outside, soft-and-juicy-on-the-inside deliciousness.

I even started looking websites so see how expensive bigger freezers are because if I want to make these during the winter I'm going to have to start freezing batches of berries asap.

 

 

Berry Crumble Bars

(adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

1 cup white sugar

1 tsp baking powder

2 & 1/3 cups all purpose flour

2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup chilled (not frozen) unsalted butter (2 sticks)

1 egg

zest and juice of one lemon

3 cups fresh blueberries (I heaped my cups full)

1 heaping cup of raspberries

1/2 cup white sugar

4 tsp cornstarch

 

1. Grate the butter with a cheese grater and place in the freezer to chill. Preheat oven to 375F

2.  In a medium bowl whisk together the 1 cup sugar, baking powder,the flour, graham cracker crumbs, salt, and lemon zest. Using a fork, pastry cutter, or your hands work the egg and the grated butter into the other ingredients until they come together to form a crumbly mixture

3. Grease a 9x 13 pan and pat half of the crumb mixture on the bottom of it

4. In another bowl stir together the berries, sugar, corn starch, and lemon juice. Gently spread evenly in the pan

5. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture on top of the berries

6.Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes or until top is slightly brown. Let the bars cool completely before cutting. These keep very well covered in the fridge

Comments

[Rigel_p]

Lovely bars! Good call on the graham cracker crumbs. I was fixin' to whip up some date squares, but how can I resist these?

[Michelle @ If Toys Could Talk]

Those look so yummy. I like the idea of adding graham cracker crumbs for flavor and texture. And I'd never heard of shredding then freezing the butter... I'm definitely filing that one away for later! I couldn't resist pinning your recipe: http://pinterest.com/iftoyscouldtalk/pins/

[Clockwork Lemon]

Rigel: I say make both kinds of squares! The berry ones keep really well in the fridge

Michelle: Thanks for the pin! Pinterest is awesome but also the cause of much of my procrastination

[Dianasaurous]

These look so delicious! I picked up some berries from a local fruit stand and they were super sweet and yum...they would be perfect for this! If only it wasn't already hot as hell without the oven on...

[Clockwork Lemon]

Diana: I'm glad that it hasn't been too hot here to have to oven on. I've been baking a lot of bread that requires me to preheat the oven to 500 for 45 minutes before the bread even goes in!

[Digital Printing]

I had a taste of this berry crumble bars when I was still in college. I always buy them in a nearby bakeshop, my only problem is, it's too expensive for me and I'm so happy today that I found this, I hope it's worth it!

[Les]

Next summer I'm going to container a bunch of berries and if I manage to not eat them all on the spot, I swear I'll try this. It looks awesome.

[Clockwork Lemon]

Digital Printing: When berries are in season this is a really cheap dessert to make.. it gets a little bit pricier if you have to pay for the frozen berries

Les: I'm trying to get to the farmer's market this weekend to get the last of the berries and start freezing them

[abby]

i absolutely love blueberries and this is a wonderful recipe. i definitely want to try this out and serve it for breakfast. looks yummy with a cup of coffee :)

[rose]

YUM! these look amazing :) and the grating/freezing butter tip is perfection - that step always puts me off because i don't have a pastry cutter. thanks!

[yummy supper]

Stephanie, why am I so late to this whole bar-making thing? Those looks so good and I need to whip some up myself:)

And so true that you could easily freeze some ripe berries for winter baking. What would be better in the gray days of February than a taste of buttery summer goodness?

-Erin

[Clockwork Lemon]

Rose: I used to avoid making pie dough because of that step too (it's still my least favorite dough to make but I don't dislike it.. just like it less than bread dough)

Erin: I froze about 16 cups of blueberries this weekend so that I could enjoy the summer type baking this winter

[The Sugar Plump Fairy]

Your recipes never cease to amaze me! I find myself wanting to try out all of them! I actually am going to use a few that you've posted for my family's week on Cape Cod. I've been lurking your blog for probably over a year now and finally decided to make my own account and follow you for real!
Happy Baking!

[Heather]

These look so moist and juicy, and I love the crumb topping on top!

[kyleen]

I'm loving all things crumble right now, and these bars look fantastic. Peaches are in season where I live and I was wondering if diced peaches would work in place of the berries.

[jasmin]

What fabulous recipe!! this sounds like a great variation. will definitely try this one... thanks!

[best salad recipes]

I love berries! this is great recipe, I will try it later. thank you :-)

[best chocolate recipes]

Looks so yummy and delicious! will definitely try this, this good for kids birthdays. thanks ;-)

[Maggie Muggins]

Nice! I never thought of subbing in graham cracker crumbs before. I'm hoping to get out to millarville this weekend so I can get my hands on the last of the berries, I'm sad that soon we'll be in pumpkin territory again.

[Patty]

I have to try shredding the butter!!!! Genius - these also look fantastic and we are sick of pie this may also go on my list this weekend! XO

[Chelsey Van]

how did I miss this post?? I need to try this ASAP, I've been looking for a solution to soggy blueberry crumb bars

[Best Smoothie Recipes]

Stephanie, your recipes never cease to amaze me! I find myself wanting to try out all of them!