Blueberry Pie Bars
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
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
Oh yum Jen! These look absolutely delicious! What a great July 4th treat…..maybe split them and serve ’em up like a Strawberry Shortcake??? Yum.
http://www.simplysweeter.blogspot.com
Hi Jen, by any chance do you remember about how many strawberries you used for the recipe and also for filling? I have maybe 10-15 strawberries at home that need to be used asap and wondered if that was enough?
KV – Sorry I don’t. We had a big thing of strawberries in the fridge that Hubby had cut up for us to snack on. I would say it was less than a pint, but pretty close to a pint? Not really sure. Sorry I can’t be more help.
strawberries are my favorite fruit ever! in my opinion, they always should be enjoyed fresh no matter what. even in desserts! 😀 your cupcakes look great, by the wayaoh
I’ve heard that strawberry cake doesn’t end up being that sweet, but maybe the addition of fresh strawberries on top changes things. I’m a huge strawberry fan, so I’m anxious to try this.
Cupcake Activist – I could definitely see that the batter itself might not be that sweet. I thought they were great with the additional strawberries added in.
This looks divine. I made the Sky High strawberry cake with frozen berries and I thought it was really good, but I’d like to try again with fresh ones too! Your hubby has some very luck coworkers 🙂
Love this recipe.. infact all of your cupcake recipes. I made your Fauxtess cupcakes the other day and turned out wonderfully.. This is now on my wish list. :
http://www.brisbanebaker.blogspot.com
These look so simple and beautiful! I love strawberry cake and I especially love the way the fresh strawberries look inside 🙂
Sues
cant go wrong with strawberry…just made strawberry marscapone filled cupcakes myself! 🙂
http://cuppycakebakes.blogspot.com
I love how you frosted these cupcakes!! did you start from the inside and go out with a 1M tip?
Yes, soohyunee, to make the rosette, I started in the center and swirled around to the outside.
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