November 11, 2014

Easy Brown Sugar Blueberry Crumble Bars

You guys!!  I baked you something!!!!!!!!!

Easy Brown Sugar Blueberry Crumble Bars

And it wasn’t a complete and utter catastrophe!!!

YAY!  Progress.

If you’ve spent even just a little time on here then you know that baking is sooo not my thang.  Sure, I can whip up some cookies, brownies, and maybe even the occasional cake (hah, Cakes! get it?).  But serious baking?   Girrrl – BYE!  It just. ain’t. happening.  I mean for reals, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve “baked” for the blog (lets use that term loosely) and the results have been everything from “meh” to “is this still food?” to “I think we should call a doctor…”, it’s thoroughly pathetic.

But this?  THIS!

Freakin’ nailed it.

Don’t ask me how this was a success, I seriously have no idea.  Basically I knew I wanted to bake something with blueberries that was vaguely pastry-ish, but beyond that I didn’t have a clue.  So like any good baker I searched hi and lo for inspiration, found a recipe for shortbread, completely disregarded it, and BOOM!

You have these totally amazing crumble bars.

This is my core problem with baking – You have to follow the directions.  Like, apparently you can’t swap baking soda for baking powder (which I do), and pastry flour is completely different from all-purpose flour (which I ignore) and there are all these specific measurements and cooking times and just ugh, RULES.

I really hate rules.

So essentially me and baking just aren’t that into each other, you see?  BUT!  Once in a blue moon I’ll throw a bunch of ish in a bowl, pop it in the oven at some random temperature, and somehow something insanely delicious comes out at the end.

This is that story.

What I love about this recipe is that it really is so painfully easy, I’m 100% confidant you can handle it.  And isn’t that the worst, when someone says a recipe is “easy” and then it’s a total cluster?  I’ve tried to follow baking recipes like those, and instead of ending up with a cadbury egg inside a brownie inside a cookie, I get a hockey puck with raw egg and a salmonella drizzle, it’s downright horrifying.

So this right here isn’t just real people easy, its if-you-can-use-a-spoon-you-can-do-this, easy, which I think is the most beginner baking level possible.

Three key elements make these bars a total breeze.  The first is the shortbread recipe, which is a simple four ingredient mash-up of flour, butter, powdered sugar, and brown sugar.  Melt, sift, stir, and there you have it.  The second factor is that the shortbread serves as both the crust and the crumble on top, which is wildly efficient.  And the third?  You make the blueberry filling while your crust bakes, which is straight up time-saving genius.

In the end these taste like a blueberry pie inside a shortbread cookie, so clearly they’re fantastic.  The crust and crumble are super buttery (like, Paula Deen buttery) but that’s what makes every bite melt, it’s divine.  And the filling?  Since I’ve never been a fan of runny consistencies I made mine on the thicker side, but you can easily tailor this to whatever you like – Simply add less or more water to get the vibe you’re diggin’.

But a few things you just HAVE to do when you eat these?  1 – Warm them up just a little.  2 – Drink a cup of coffee or tea.  3 – Scoop on some ice cream or swirl up some whip cream.

Now I’m done.

Easy Brown Sugar Blueberry Crumble Bars

Yield: 10 - 12 servings

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cook Time: 30 mins

Total Time: 1 hour

Print Recipe

Ingredients:

  • CRUST & CRUMBLE:
  • 3 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour (sifted)
  • 3/4 cups Powdered Sugar
  • 3 1/2 Sticks Salted Butter (melted)
  • 1/4 cup Light Brown Sugar
  • FILLING:
  • 4 cups Blueberries
  • 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar
  • 1/4 cup Sugar
  • 1 cup Water
  • 1/4 cup Cornstarch (sifted)
  • Pinch of Salt
  • 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
  • 1 tbsp Butter

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Line 9″ X 13″ baking dish with parchment paper.
  2. In mixing bowl combine all crust/crumble ingredients, stirring thoroughly until smooth.  Take approximately 2/3’s of the dough and spread evenly into baking dish, smoothing the top as needed.  Reserve the rest of the dough for the crumble.
  3. Bake crust for 20 minutes until just beginning to brown around the edges, then remove from oven.  Keep oven heated.
  4. While crust bakes, in large saucepan heat sugar, water, cornstarch, and salt over medium flame until smooth.  Next stir in half the blueberries, then cover.  Once a boil is reached, remove cover and continue to stir until berries have burst and a thick, bubbling consistency has formed, approximately 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat and lastly stir in lemon juice, butter, and remaining blueberries until well combined.  Allow to cool to room temperature.
  5. Pour blueberry mixture over crust, then crumble the remaining dough on top.  Return to oven at 350F and bake for 30 minutes, then broil 2-3 minutes more to get top browned and golden.  Let bars cool completely, then cut and serve.

baking!

 

posted by Christine in: Breakfast & Brunch, Hidden, Sweets
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