Blueberry Pie Bars

Monday, August 12, 2013

Note to self – freeze some blueberries ASAP while they’re in season and bursting with flavor. That way I can bake up some delicious blueberry treats in the dead of winter when summer feels like an eternity away.

Or just continue to use the summer’s bounty to make treats like these blueberry pie bars while summer is still here… We went to dinner at a friend’s house late last week and I was in charge of bringing dessert. Since I would have to take this treat to work, then let it sit in my car through a work happy hour, I needed something portable and sturdy. And since my work week last week was insane, I needed something easy.

I looked back through my archives and decided to do something I rarely do. I remade a recipe. *gasp* I know. Food blogger fail. But I did swap out the sour cream for greek yogurt (a substitution I always make these days), decreased the sugar a bit since I was using super ripe produce, cut the recipe in half, and increased the baking time quite a bit.

I remembered the last time I made these bars, they were a bit underbaked in the middle which is a big part of why I cut the recipe in half. That and the fact that there would only be 6 of us at dinner. The result of increasing the baking time yielded an almost caramelized crust and a more firm filling without burning. I also cut these bars fairly large this time, in to just 9 bars. Everyone enjoyed the near-pie-slice-sized pieces, which were served with some freshly whipped cream.

One Year Ago: Europe Trip Recap – Munich, Germany
Two Years Ago: Blueberry Cobbler Bars
Three Years Ago: Blueberry Rhubarb Pie and Homemade Hamburger Buns
Four Years Ago: Strawberry Rhubarb Bars and Vanilla Peach Bourbon Jam

Blueberry Pie Bars

All the flavor of a blueberry pie, but much more portable and easier to make

Yield: 9 large or 16 smaller bars

Ingredients:

Crust and Topping
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
pinch salt
12 Tbsp unsalted butter, chilled

Fruit Filling
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
6 Tbsp flour
pinch salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
~3.5 cups fresh blueberries

Directions:

To make the crust and topping, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 8x8 inch baking pan.

Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes, and add to the flour mixture. Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour mixture until the butter is evenly distributed but the mixture is still crumbly.

Reserve 3/4 cup of the mixture to use as the topping. Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the pan, and bake 12-15 minutes. Cool for at least 10 minutes.

To make the filling, whisk the egg in a large bowl, then add the sugar, yogurt, flour, salt, and vanilla. Gently fold in the berries and spoon the mixture over the crust. Sprinkle the remaining flour mixture evenly over the filling, and bake 60-75 minutes until the top is starting to brown.

Cool at least 1 hour before cutting into bars, or scoop out of the pan to serve cobbler-style.

Recipe adapted from The Pastry Queen

Bars and Brownies, Dessert, Go-To Recipes

14 comments »

8 Responses to “Deb’s Mom’s Apple Cake”

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Megan — January 5, 2009 at 9:51 pm

I made that cake a few months back and it was awesome. It’s a good thing I don’t have any apples or else I’d make another one!
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2

wifeplzak — January 5, 2009 at 10:13 pm

I have wanted to make this one for a while now, I better get on it.
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3

bensbaby116 — January 6, 2009 at 1:43 am

Mmm, I love the smell of apple desserts baking! This looks like a great recipe. Thanks for posting. 🙂
~bensbaby116
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4

Mermaid Sweets — January 6, 2009 at 2:01 am

I made this cake on Friday, and it was amazing, even though there were some problems. One, I used a silicone bundt pan because I realized too late I didn’t have a metal one, so I had to cook it forever, and in the end the inside around the cone never really cooked. I just scooped that out and the rest was delicious. Yum. P.s. Love your blog.
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5

Joelen — January 6, 2009 at 5:17 am

Now that is an apple cake! looks delicious!
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Sara Therese — January 6, 2009 at 8:11 pm

I can’t wait to try this. We’re going to Brown County this weekend, and this apple cake would be the perfect addition to the trip! Thanks for sharing!
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EAT! — January 9, 2009 at 6:14 pm

Love all those big chunks of apple in the cake. It looks delicious!!
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Acuman_dapper — April 5, 2009 at 9:33 pm

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Blueberry Pie Bars