Blueberry Crumb Bars
Blueberry Crumb Bars! Buttery cornmeal crust is layered with blueberry filling and topped with chunky brown sugar topping. This tasty treat can be made with fresh or frozen berries.
I just love the combination of blueberries and corn. They’re both at their best at the height of the summer. So of course they go together. It’s a match made in heaven.
I’ve used this flavor combination in lots of recipes from my sophisticated Blueberry Cheesecake Tart, to my Blueberry Pie in a flaky cornmeal crust, Blueberry Cornbread Muffins and my favorite Blueberry Cornbread Cobbler.
I also love to top Sweet Corn Ice Cream with homemade Blueberry Preserves for another variation on this theme.
Scroll through the process photos to see how to make Blueberry Crumb Bars:
The key to a great crumb bar is having separate and distinct layers of crust, fruit and crumb topping. How do we ensure three layers that don’t mush together?
Tips for making the best fruit & crumb bar cookies:
- The butter should be slightly cool, but a little pliable. If the butter is very cold it will be more difficult to cut it into the dry ingredients. If the butter is very soft, it will completely mix in and you won’t get nice large clumps of crumble.
- Lightly press the bottom crust into an even layer. Don’t pack the bottom layer too densely. You want a light and crisp bottom layer.
- Pre-bake the bottom layer before adding the fruit. This ensures a distinct and separate bottom crust that doesn’t meld with the fruit.
- Use a filling that is not too wet. If you’re working with a very watery fruit like rhubarb or strawberries, pre-cook the fruit or use preserves for the filling.
- Gather the topping into large clumps and then break those into smaller clumps over the fruit filling.
Here are a few more fruit and crumb bar recipes: Peanut Butter & Jelly Crumb Bars, Rhubarb Crumble Bars.
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Blueberry Crumb Bar recipe
Ingredients
For the dough
- 15 oz all purpose flour (3 cups, see note)
- 5 oz Stone ground cornmeal (1 cup)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 8 oz brown sugar (1 cup)
- 4 oz granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 lemon (zest finely grated)
- 12 oz unsalted butter (1 1/2 cups)
For the Filling
- 18 oz blueberries (3 heaping cups)
- 3 oz granulated sugar (1/3 cup)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1/4 teaspoon table salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter a 13" x 9" pan. Line the pan with parchment paper and allow it to hand over the sides for easier removal of the bars.
- Combine the flour, cornmeal, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of a food processor. Mix to combine the ingredients or pulse a few times in the processor.15 oz all purpose flour, 5 oz Stone ground cornmeal, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon table salt, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 8 oz brown sugar, 4 oz granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 lemon
- Toss in the butter and mix with your fingers until the butter bits are no larger than a pea and the dough clumps together when squeezed. If working in a food processor, run until the butter is fully combined and the dough begins to form clumps.12 oz unsalted butter
- Reserve 1/3 of the dough for the topping. Sprinkle the remaining 2/3 of the dough into the pan and and lightly press into an even layer.
- Bake 10 minutes until set and beginning to brown.
- While the crust bakes, make the filling. In a large bowl, toss together the blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and salt.18 oz blueberries, 3 oz granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, juice of 1 lemon, 1/4 teaspoon table salt
- Sprinkle the blueberries over the pre-baked crust and crumble the remaining dough over the berries.
- Bake until golden brown and the berries are soft, about 25-30 minutes. Cool completely and cut into 24 bars.
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These blueberry crumb bars are soooo delicious! Thank you for the all the photos of the cookie making process; they were especially helpful for me. Can’t wait to try another one of your recipes!
Thanks, Julie!
Hi Eileen! These bars look fabulous! FYI, I noticed under the lemon zest it says “1 each” instead of a measure, and there was an “e” in “grated”.
I look fwd. to trying these.
Thanks for pointing out the typos. I’ve been transferring recipes to an updated recipe card and some things get lost in translation.
This recipe is phenomenal! I had freshly picked blackberries so I used this recipe, substituting the blueberries. The addition of cornmeal is genius. I’ve made many fruit bars over the years and the crunch, texture, and buttery flavors of the crust make it the perfect complement to the berries. This will be my go-to from now on. Love, love, love! Thanks so much
If you didn’t want to use so much butter is there an alternative substitute? I suspect not, because the butter is also star flavor in the recipe. But one can hope.
Rather than substitute I would suggest you gradually cut back the butter to a level you find acceptable.