Hi Everyone,
Do you ever have a recipe that exceeds your expectations? Today’s recipe did just that. See I was doing the ultimate freezer clean-out and I came across 4 bags of frozen blackberries. They were hidden in the back of the freezer and have been there for months. I opened the bag and the berries were quite frosty. I rinsed them off in cold water and tried one. They tasted good, sweet and tart. I didn’t want to waste them and I knew I needed use them. With so many bags of blackberries I didn’t know what to make? I came across the idea of making Blackberry Crumble Bars and I am so glad I did. These bars taste amazing! They taste like a crisp but in bar form.
The bars are sweet with the perfect buttery crust and topping. It’s a breeze to whip this together in no time. The berries are super plump and juicy too. However, if you’re not a fan of seeds, be warned you’ll get seeds in it. I don’t mind and did you know that seeds from berries actually clean your teeth? Yup, true fact!
To make the bars I used flour, baking powder, sugar and of course butter. You have to have butter to give it the buttery taste that I just love. I mixed it together with my hands. Oddly enough I don’t own a pastry cutter, if I do, I have no clue where it is? Once I cut the butter in, I added an egg and vanilla extract. I’m bad when it comes to vanilla extract, I don’t measure it because I love the flavor. More is better to me. Once the mixture came together, I added half of it to a greased 9 x 13 baking pan. I added my blackberries that soaked in sugar and cornstarch, then topped with remaining crumble. The crumble I could eat with a spoon.
The recipe makes 24 bars and trust me one, ok two fills me up. This was my Sunday lunch. lol I couldn’t keep my hands out of it. So darn good. Crumbles are one of my favorite desserts, its portion control, sweet and full of juicy fruit. The hardest part is waiting for it to cool. If you cut it to warm, they will crumble. 🙂 As I am sitting here writing this, I bet vanilla ice cream would be so good with it. I am drooling thinking of it.
- 8 cups blackberries, fresh or frozen
- 3 tsp. cornstarch
- 1 cup granulated sugar, divided
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cold, cut into small pieces
- 1 egg, slightly beaten
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Lightly spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine blackberries, ½ cup granulated sugar and cornstarch. Stir gently; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine ½ cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder and flour. Using a pastry cutter, or two forks (I used my hands); cut in butter. Add egg and vanilla extract and mix until well combined and resembles coarse crumbs.
- Take half of the mixture and press into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Add the blackberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the top of the blackberries.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before cutting.
I just love crumble bars. I see them when I go to Starbucks, but at 370 calories a bar, it’s not worth it to me. So glad I can make my own at home. Makes you kind of wonder what the heck do they put in it to make it so high in calories? Mine is 197 calories and it is a pretty hefty bar. I am so happy with the outcome, I hope you enjoy it too.
Have a great day!
Toodles,
Jennifer
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Apple Crumb Bars
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Wow. These look so good. I guess it pays to clean out our fridge and freezer avery now and then.