Strawberry Blueberry Crumb Bars

By srumbel

If you’ve never made crumb bars before, you really should give them a try. They are super easy to make. You basically use the same mixture for both the crust and the topping. I just added a bit of coarse sugar on top to give it a bit of a crunch. And the filling? No boiling the fruit. Just stir all the filling ingredients together, and spread it over the top. To bring out the flavor of the fresh berries a bit more, I threw in fresh lemon zest into the crust and tossed the berries with fresh lemon juice. The tartness of the lemon balances perfectly with the sweetness of the berries. Top with the remaining crust mixture, sprinkle with sugar, and bake. Eat them warm, eat them cold. It’s good both ways. Though if you have some vanilla ice cream on hand, I highly recommend eating at least one of the bars warm with a scoop of ice cream!
from a-kitchen-addiction.com

Ingredients

• For the Base and Crumble Layers
• 1 1/2 C white whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 C butter, cold and cut into pieces
• For the Fruit Filling
• 1/4 C sugar
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 1/4 C fresh strawberries, washed and chopped
• 1 C fresh blueberries, washed and patted dry
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• coarse sugar, optional
• additional lemon zest, optional

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 375. Line an 8x8 or 9x9 inch baking dish with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest.
In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and vanilla extract. Stir into dry ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Press about ⅔ of mixture into the bottom of prepared baking dish.
In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar and cornstarch. Stir in lemon juice. Add in strawberries and blueberries. Stir until berries are coated. Spread berry filling over the top of crust.
Top with remaining crumb mixture. Sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until top is golden brown.
Allow to cool before cutting into bars. Sprinkle with additional lemon zest and serve.

Serves: 12