I consulted my friend, the internet, for an easy baking recipe and came across this lovely Blueberry Crumb Bars recipe from the Brown Eyed Baker. I’m very much a “texture person” when it comes to food so I’m not a huge fan of blueberries but if you bake them to smush inside of something, I’m in, I love the flavor.
My first actual from scratch recipe. I have to mix two different parts and then put them together. I started sweating a little. Feeling like I have no clue how to bake, I take a deep breath and put on my apron. Sidenote: I normally like to clean as I go along in the kitchen but with my novice extremely in tact, I’ve given in to the fact that I should have exactly zero distractions on this new venture. I’ve decided that a mess is ok on Sundays when I bake.
Sigh of relief as I finished the first part and put half of the dough in the pan. I was feeling a little more confident sifting and whisking along until it was time to add the lemon juice. It wasn’t coming out easily, so I squeezed really hard and shot A LOT of juice a few feet across the floor. The question quickly became, do I clean this up now… with my socks? I instantly sweating again. But I finished putting it together and when it started baking and smelling delicious, I couldn’t wait to try it! I definitely said a prayer and kept my eye firmly on the oven instead of attacking the dishes.
The question quickly became, do I clean this up now… with my socks?
Overall, these Blueberry Crumb Bars were a great starting point because they were easy! The anticipation of it being the “first from scratch recipe” was the hardest part. I adapted the recipe with as many organic ingredients as I could find and made it gluten free so all of my taste testing co-workers could eat it. While I was looking for gluten free flour at the store, I realized that all of the packages had conversion charts for substitution and that sounded terrible. I perked right back up when I found Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour, no math!
What I learned:
I can bake! From scratch! And it tastes GOOD! Hip Hip Hooray!
The sifter I bought with a trigger handle is THE WORST. Way more comes out of the bottom by banging on the side than actually pulling the trigger. I must invest in one with a crank handle, toot sweet.
Using gluten free flour makes baked goods more dense and moist.
What they said:
Rave reviews! Everyone seemed to love these blueberry crumb bars and wanted another piece or two. Most of my responses were that the recipe was delicious and not too sweet.
Blueberry Crumb Bars
Ingredients
Crumb
- 3 cups organic unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 cup organic cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon extra fine pink himalayan salt
- 1 cup organic cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
Blueberry Filling
- 4 cups fresh blueberries
- 1/2 cup organic cane sugar
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Prehead oven to 375 degrees.
- Lightly grease a 9x13 inch pan.
- Make the Crumb. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Use a fork to blend in the butter and then the egg (the dough will be crumbly).
- Press half of the dough into the prepared pan.
- Make the Filling. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently fold in the blueberries to coat evenly with the sugar mixture.
- Spread the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust, drizzling any excess juice in the bowl over the filling.
- Crumble the remaining dough evenly over the blueberry layer.
- Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until the top is light golden brown.
- Cool completely before cutting.
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