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!
Ingredients
Scale
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)
Instructions
For the Dough:
- 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.
- Melt the butter in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in the sugars, lemon zest, and vanilla.
- In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- 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.
- Press the remaining dough into the prepared pan, spreading it out as evenly as possible.
- 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:
- 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.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the crumble topping is golden and the filling is slightly bubbly around the edges.
- 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.
- 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
Keywords: lemon blueberry crumble bars, lemon blueberry pie bars, lemon blueberry streusel bars, blueberry pie bars, blueberry desserts