A buttery shortbread-like base, juicy blueberry filling & crumbly crumble topping – these Blueberry Crumble Bars are so easy & delicious.

These blueberry pie bars are a tasty dessert that's great with a glass of milk or a cup of tea!! They have just enough sweetness and the filling goes great with the crust. You could also substitute any berry depending on what you have, or what's on promotion, or if blueberries aren't your thing.

I just love how when you get blueberries in promotion, which I managed to do, so I got 4 BIG boxes. I've even had some the size of 50 fils, and they were SO sweet and juicy. My daughter could eat a whole package in one sitting, no lie!

This recipe is based off Food Network. I’m in love with their recipes – and I’ve never gone wrong with anything from that site. The main things I am changing here though is the addition of cream cheese to give more depth and texture to the filling.

You’ll notice I say COLD butter here as opposed to room temperature. Crumbles, shortbreads & scones often call for cold butter because when baking the butter creates steam pockets – which leads to flakier, crumblier goods. Exactly what we’re looking for in crumb bars. The batter will feel sandy and crumbly.

The bars will bake for about 45 minutes, and when you take them out of the oven you should see the berries bubbling and the top crumble layer will be getting slightly golden in color. My only real trick here is to wait for the bars to fully cool before slicing – I know it’s hard. But I also know that cutting into your Blueberry Crumble Bars while they’re still warm causes a big blueberry mess. So please follow this not-so-simple tip.

Seriously – the combo of blueberries, lemon & buttery crumble is deliciousness.

Ingredients

Crust:

Nonstick cooking spray, for pan

1/2 cup/ 113 gms unsalted butter, chilled

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch salt

Filling:

1 egg

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup cream cheese

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons cornstarch

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups blueberries

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C . Spray an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Line the pan with parchment paper so that it hangs over on two sides. Spray the parchment.
For the crust: In the bowl of a food processor, combine the butter, sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Process until the mixture starts to come together and clump, 1 minute. Remove 3/4 cup and reserve; press the remaining crust mixture evenly into the prepared baking pan. Set aside.
For the filling: In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, sour cream, cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice, flour, cornstarch, vanilla extract and cinnamon until smooth. Mix in 1 cup of the blueberries. Pour the filling mixture over the crust, shaking the pan gently to settle the custard and berries. Pour the remaining 1 cup blueberries over the top, spreading them evenly.
Take the reserved crust and sprinkle it over the top of the berries, squeezing the mixture in your hands to encourage large lumps.
Bake for 1 hour. Let cool. Remove the bars from the pan and cut into 9 pieces. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Blueberry Pie Bars