Blueberry Pie Bars

Mid-May in Tulsa. Brayden is eighty-four weeks old. The Tulsa Farmer’s Market reopened for the summer season Saturday. Dustin and I and Brayden went at nine AM for the first family-Saturday outing of the spring. Brayden was in the stroller. We came home with strawberries, asparagus, the first early-summer corn, and a small jar of local honey.

The blueberry pie bars are the bar-format version of a fresh-blueberry-pie — a shortbread base, a blueberry-filling-layer (fresh blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch), an oat-and-brown-sugar crumb topping. Baked at three-fifty for forty minutes. The bars are the equivalent of a fresh-fruit-pie that can be cut into squares and eaten with one hand.

The technique question is the blueberry-filling moisture. Fresh blueberries release a lot of liquid during the bake. The cornstarch in the filling sets the moisture into a thick jam-like consistency. The fix is doubling the standard cornstarch ratio (two tablespoons per pint of blueberries, not one) for the bar-format to ensure the cuts hold their shape.

Sunday I made a 9x13 pan. Twenty-four bars. Eight for the freezer. Sixteen for the week. Dustin had three. Brayden had a small piece of plain cooked blueberry (no shortbread, no crumb) with a small dab of plain yogurt. The blueberries were the highlight for him.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour (plus cooling) | Servings: 16 bars

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 large egg yolk
3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat and prepare. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides for easy lifting.
Make the crust and crumble. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, 1/2 cup of the sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the cold butter cubes and the egg yolk. Use your fingers or a pastry cutter to work the mixture until it resembles coarse, crumbly sand with some pea-sized butter pieces remaining.
Press the base layer. Reserve 1 cup of the crumble mixture for the topping. Press the remaining mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan to form the crust.
Make the blueberry filling. In a medium bowl, combine the blueberries, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Stir gently until the berries are evenly coated.
Assemble the bars. Spread the blueberry filling evenly over the pressed crust. Scatter the reserved crumble mixture over the top, distributing it loosely — don’t press it down.
Bake. Bake for 40–45 minutes, until the top is lightly golden and the blueberry filling is bubbling at the edges. If using frozen blueberries, add 5 minutes to the bake time.
Cool completely. Let the bars cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before lifting out and slicing. For cleaner cuts, refrigerate for 30 minutes before slicing into 16 squares.

Nutrition (per serving)

Blueberry Pie Bars