Lemon Blueberry Crumble Bars

Oh my gosh, you guys.

YOU GUYS.

I want to shout at you right now, hence all the caps. I have found my new favorite springtime dessert. These lemony blueberry crumble bars are insane.

I was planning to share these with you all next week, but I can’t wait any longer. I’m too excited. They’re too freaking delicious.

Plus, I’m hoping that if I share them earlier, maybe there’s a better chance you’ll make them for Easter? PLEASE DO IT.

There I go again with the caps. Sorry!

I am the first to admit that I don’t usually go nuts over fruit desserts. I love a lemon bar (yes, I’m basically 80), and I enjoy fruit in things like muffins and scones. But for dessert? I’m usually chocolate or nothing. And the darker the chocolate, the better.

So this is a departure for sure. But a very happy one.

I’ve waxed poetic about my love for lemon (and citrus in general) for years now, so I won’t bore you with that again, but I will say this: Dan does NOT like lemon in anything, and he thought it was absolutely delicious in these bars. In fact, we had chocolate chip cookies and these bars in our kitchen at the same time, and he picked a LEMON blueberry bar every time.

So trust me when I say that you need the lemon in these. It sort of makes them! We’ve got zest in the crust/crumble and both juice and zest in the filling. It makes all the flavors pop and definitely puts out spring vibes. Which I think we could all use right now.

Like everyone else, I’ve been baking up a storm these past couple weeks. It brings me such comfort. I love the routine of it all. Softening butter. Gathering all my dry ingredients from the pantry. Scooping. Measuring. Sifting. It’s very therapeutic to me – like, at least I have control over THIS.

I think baking functions that way for a lot of people, which is why getting your hands on a bag of flour right now is HUGE. I found one last bag on the shelf at the grocery store last week and it was, by far, the most exciting find for me. Baking gets me through!

These bars, even if you aren’t a baking enthusiast, come together simply and hopefully with ingredients you have on hand. The crust doubles as the crumble topping, which makes things so easy. And the filling requires NO cooking and cooling before you bake, which I love…because patience is not my strong suit.

My recipe actually calls for FROZEN blueberries over fresh, which I know is weird. But! I tested these twice: once with fresh berries and once with frozen, and I prefer the frozen! The texture and flavor were just better – plus they set up a bit better in the fridge. Frozen berries are readily available right now if you can’t find fresh, so I think it’s meant to be (also, using 3 cups of frozen berries over fresh is MUCH cheaper!).

The one catch to using frozen berries is that they have to be completely defrosted and drained really, really well of any excess liquid. This is crucial to getting the right texture and so they set up fully after baking. Too much liquid is not a good thing here.

Once these bake and set up in the fridge for a bit, they slice super easily and make the cutest little blueberry crumble bars. I highly recommend dusting them with powdered sugar – it just makes them look pretty and festive! And again, I think we could all use some of that right now.

These are definitely my newest obsession, and I hope you join me in making and enjoying (obsessing over) them too!

Lemon Blueberry Crumble Bars

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• Author: Molly
• Total Time: 55 minutes
• Yield: 12 bars 1x

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Description

These Lemon Blueberry Crumble Bars are the perfect spring treat – they’re loaded with lemony flavor, sweet blueberries, and a buttery crumble! They’re easy to put together and taste like spring!

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Ingredients

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For the Dough:

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1½ sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• Zest of 1 lemon (roughly 1 tablespoon)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or extract)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon fine salt

For the Filling:

• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• ¼ teaspoon fine salt
• 3 cups frozen blueberries, defrosted (see note)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or extract)
• Zest of 2 lemons (roughly 2 tablespoons)
• Juice of 1 lemon (roughly 3 tablespoons)

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Instructions

For the Dough:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line an 8 x 8-inch baking dish with parchment paper. Spray the paper and pan liberally with nonstick spray.
2. Melt the butter in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in the sugars, lemon zest, and vanilla.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
4. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until a soft and smooth dough forms. Scoop out roughly 1 cup of the dough and set aside in a small bowl (this will be the crumble topping). Place the bowl in the fridge.
5. Press the remaining dough into the prepared pan, spreading it out as evenly as possible.
6. Bake for 15 minutes or until set and lightly golden around the edges. Cool the crust for a few minutes before topping with the filling.

For the Filling:

While the crust is baking, make the filling by combining all the ingredients in a bowl, stirring well to dissolve the sugars and cornstarch.

To Assemble:

1. Pour the berry filling over the cooled crust. Scatter the chilled crumble topping over top of the berry filling, breaking it up with your fingers.
2. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the crumble topping is golden and the filling is slightly bubbly around the edges.
3. Remove from the oven and cool COMPLETELY in the pan (this is very important!). Once they have cooled to room temperature, transfer the pan to the fridge for 30 minutes before attempting to slice into bars.
4. Slice the chilled bars and dust with powdered sugar.

Notes

• You can use fresh or frozen berries here. If using frozen, it is imperative that you completely defrost and drain the berries before using them in the filling. If you do not drain them, the bars will never set up because they will be too wet.
• Keep the bars in the fridge. They’re delicious chilled!

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 45 minutes (plus additional chilling time)
• Category: dessert