Blueberry Pie Bars

July is the ultimate backyard cookout… invite friends over…drink cocktails on a warm summer night…kind of month.  The best kinds of desserts for backyard cookouts are the 9 x 13 favorites!  Easily transportable, easily enjoyed.  Strudel and I decided this month we would share our favorite dessert bar recipes!!  First up, blueberry pie bars, a perfect treat for your 4th of July get together.

This recipe is easy and after cooling completely cuts up nicely into hand-held bars that taste like a big slice of blueberry pie.  This recipe comes courtesy of the Food Network and Trisha Yearwood (apparently she sings and had a cooking show on the Food Network).  The original recipe called for an 8 x 8 inch square pan but I converted it to a 9 x 13 inch pan.  I found a great conversion guide at Food52, one of my favorite food sites!  I additionally tweaked a few amounts of the ingredients to suit my taste, a little more cornstarch and lemon juice than the original recipe called for.

 

Blueberry Pie Bars

makes 18 bars

Crust

1 c. butter, cold and cut into 1 inch chunks

1 1/2 c. sugar

3 c. flour

1 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. salt

 

Filling

2 eggs (or one massive duck egg)

1 c. sour cream

2/3 c. sugar

5 T. lemon juice

2 T. flour

1/4 c. cornstarch

4 t. vanilla bean paste

1 t. cinnamon

4 c. frozen wild blueberries

 

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.  Butter a 9 x 13 inch pan, line with parchment paper and butter the paper.  Combine all of the crust ingredients into a stand mixer with the paddle attached and beat until the mixture looks sandy.  Remove 1 1/2 c. of the crust mixture into a bowl and set aside.  Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the 9 x 13 pan.

In the dirty stand mixer bowl, combine all filling ingredients except the blueberries and blend on medium speed with the paddle attachment.

Rinse half of the frozen blueberries in a colander under cold running water until the water runs clear.

Drain the water and add these berries to the filling mixture and gently stir, just until combined.  Pour this entire mixture over the pressed crust and tap the pan down to spread the mixture.  Rinse the remaining frozen blueberries, as before, and once drained scoop on top of the filling in the pan.  Squeeze and crumble with your hand the remaining crust mixture and sprinkle on top of the bars.  Bake for about an hour or until golden brown and set in the middle.

Let cool completely on a wire rack (at least an hour, I let mine sit at room temperature for several hours) and then grab the parchment paper that overhangs both ends of the pan and lift the bars out of the pan.  Cut with a large, sharp knife into rectangles.

Individual bars can be served warm with vanilla ice cream but they are perfect served cold alongside some hot BBQ out on the back porch with friends!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on July 2, 2017
This entry was posted in baking, brunch, desserts, pies and tagged bars, blueberries, Food52, The Food Network.