Blueberry Pie Bars

I saw this recipe at Brown Eyed Baker not long ago and promptly put it on my sidebar as a recipe to try. Michelle made the bars with blackberries, which sounded pretty good, but my first berry love is blueberries, and so I decided to try them with blueberries. I knew the kids would not be smitten with them, so I planned a day when I could take a plate of them to Doug's office -- they are definitely a more "grown up" dessert.

While these bars could not ever replace a real blueberry pie, they were very yummy. They didn't have that concentrated blueberry flavor, but the lemon in the crust does give them more flavor than if they had been a plain crust. And like the Sugar Cookie Bars, the fact that they are a bar makes them exponentially simpler to make than a blueberry pie. I think I will try them again, maybe with raspberries or mixed berries next time. They are very, very buttery (i.e. fattening) so be sure to make them when you have someone with whom to share.

Blueberry Pie Bars
makes 20 or so bars

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For the Crust and Topping:
Zest of 2 lemons
1½ cups granulated sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed and chilled

For the Blueberry Filling:
4 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup sour cream (I used low-fat)
¾ cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
6 cups fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan with butter; set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar and the lemon zest. Using your fingers, rub the zest into the sugar until all of the sugar has been moistened. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the lemon sugar, all-purpose flour and salt. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and continue to pulse until the pieces of butter are no larger than the size of peas, about 10 to 12 pulses.

Measure out 1½ cups of the crumb mixture to use for the topping and put it in the refrigerator until needed. Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the pan. Bake the crust until golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes while you prepare the filling.

To make the filling, whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Whisk in the sugar, sour cream, flour and salt until thoroughly combined. Gently fold in the berries. Spoon the mixture evenly over the crust and make sure all of the berries are in one layer and not sitting on top of one another.

Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture evenly over the filling. Bake until the top is lightly browned, about 45 to 55 minutes. Let cool for at least 1 hour before cutting.

Source: Brown Eyed Baker

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