Blackberry Crumble Bars

The sunshine outside right now is deceiving. It looks absolutely gorgeous, but there’s still a bit of a chill in the air. I shouldn’t complain because it’s beautiful for early April. But after a few weeks of way above average temperatures that felt more like May than March, I want the almost 80s back! I want to grill out for dinner. I want to sit outside on my brand new patio furniture. I want to ride my new bike. I want to frolic in the sunshine in a tank top and a skirt! But I guess I’ll have to settle for staring at the emerging green outside my back door from the couch and eating some summer berries to trick myself into thinking it’s almost warm.

Is there anything better than juicy, ripe berries? I’m a terrible eater when it comes to fresh produce (I hate nearly every vegetable on earth), but I can pack away fruit like it’s my job. It’s the main reason I love summer. Because I certainly can’t stand the heat.

The grocery store has been having sales on summer fruit for the past couple weeks now. While I held off on the cheap, but not-so-great looking strawberries, I couldn’t resist the perfect blackberries. They just called to me, and at $1 a carton, I couldn’t stop myself.

I also couldn’t stop myself from eating these bars. I didn’t even share! Warm from the oven or room temperature with a bit of whipped cream, they were hard to say no to. Sweet and tart with just a tiny hint of cinnamon spice, these helped convince me that I’m officially over my aversion to baked fruit. I’m ready to try these bars again when the big hauls of summer fruit come rolling in. I think they’d be amazing with a mix of raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries.

Oh Summer, please hurry!

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Blackberry Crumble Bars
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Makes about 24 bars



Dough:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 egg

Zest of 1 lemon

Filling:
½ cup white sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch
2 cups fresh blackberries (two 6oz packages)
Juice of 1 lemon

Topping:
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 9x13 pan or glass baking dish; set aside.
2. Make dough: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in lemon zest. Using a pastry cutter, blend in cold butter until it resembles coarse meal (Some of the butter will look like peas, and others will be like flakes of oatmeal.). Using the pastry cutter or a fork, blend in egg until mixture is moistened but still a bit crumbly. Divide dough in half. Pat half of the dough into an even layer in the prepared baking pan; set the other half aside.
3. In another large bowl, mix together the sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Gently mix in blackberries, tossing to coat. Spread blackberry mixture evenly over crust.
4. With remaining dough, add the brown sugar and cinnamon, mixing until well combined. Crumble the dough over the blackberries.
5. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the top is lightly golden and the berry mixture is bubbling at the edges. Cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares.

 Per serving (1 bar): 216 calories; 8g fat; 3g protein; 34g carbs
*based on nutritional information provided by myfitnesspal.com