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Blackberry Pie Bars

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Blackberries are easily the prettiest berry in my opinion, but strangely the most under utilized berry in my house. We don’t eat them enough, and it’s a shame because they’re so, so good.  This past weekend when I was in the mood for a sweet treat, with blackberries on my mind, I made these blackberry pie bars. Ripe, juicy blackberries sit  on top of a buttery shortbread style crust, topped with an almond crumb topping, and baked until golden brown and bubbly. Buttery, and crumbly, with a deep sweet tart blackberry flavor, these bars are super delicious and highly addictive.

Blackberry Pie Bars

The crust

The crust for the blackberry pie bars is similar to a shortbread crust. The flour, sugars, salt, lemon zest and butter are combined in the food processor to make a crumbly dough. The dough will stick together if you remove a handful of the mixture out and give it a light squeeze. That’s how you know your butter is cut in properly, and the dough can be pressed into the pan. Before pressing the dough into the pan, reserve a cup of the flour/butter mixture for the topping.

I like to use the bottom of a measuring cup to evenly press in my dough. Once it’s evenly distributed, I use an offset spatula to make it super neat and level. I can’t help myself, I like to make a pretty crust before baking. It’s just one of  my baking quirks. The crust gets baked until it’s golden brown, then cooled before adding the blackberry filling.

Blackberry Pie Bars

The topping

Remember that cup of the flour mixture we reserved when making the crust? That is also being used as the topping. Add a little bit of spice by adding some cinnamon, then use your fingertips to work the mixture together a bit to form some larger clumps. You can toss in the toasted almonds at this point, or wait to just sprinkle on after sprinkling on the crumb topping.

Blackberry Pie Bars

The blackberry filling

While the crust is baked, and is cooling, make the blackberry filling. I like to macerate the berries for just a little bit while the crust cools so that the filling is a bit more jammy. I used fresh blackberries, but you can use frozen. Defrost and drain them before using. Cut the berries into halves, or quarters if they’re huge, toss them with a bit of sugar, and lemon juice and let them rest, stirring occasionally. When the crust has cooled, and is just warm, combine the cornstarch with the berries and pour onto the crust. Bake the bars until the blackberries are bubbling around the edges and the topping has baked to golden brown.

Blackberry Pie Bars

The blackberries create this thick and juicy deep purple jam when they bake. The crust is buttery, crumbly, and a bit caramel-y from the brown sugar. The blackberries make the crust around edges of the bars sticky and chewy from the juices seeping down the sides before setting up – easily my favorite part. So, so good. And that almond crumb topping just makes these bars. Buttery and crunchy, with a hint of spice, these bars are the perfect way to use up those summer blackberries.

Blackberry Pie Bars

For more summer treats, check out these posts:

Brown Butter Stone Fruit Tart

Strawberry Rose Buttermilk Cake

Honey Cardamom Peach Galettes

Blackberry Pie Bars
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Blackberry Pie Bars

Ripe, juicy blackberries are baked on top of a buttery shortbread style crust, topped with an almond crumb topping, until golden brown and bubbly.
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time1 hr
Course: Dessert
Servings: 12 2x2 squares

Ingredients

Crust and Topping

  • 2 ¼ cup (312g) all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar, packed
  • 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest
  • 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup (32g) sliced almonds, toasted

Blackberry Filling

  • 2 1/2 cups fresh blackberries, halved
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
  • 1 ½-2 tablespoons cornstarch, use the higher amount if the berries are really juicy

Instructions

  • Heat the oven to 375F. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper.
  • In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, and lemon zest. Pulse to combine.
  • Add the butter cubes to the flour mixture. Pulse until the mixture starts to clump together but is still sandy.
  • Remove 1 cup of the mixture, and turn out the remaining mixture into the prepared pan.
  • Lightly press the dough evenly into the pan. Bake the crust for 20-25 minutes, or until light golden brown.
  • Add the cinnamon to the reserved 1 cup of the flour mixture and combine. Use the tips of your fingers to squeeze the dough together to make clumps for the topping. You don't want this part to be sandy.
  • Add the almonds (or you can wait to sprinkle them on at the before baking), and place the crumbs into the refrigerator to keep chilled.
  • Place the blackberries, lemon juice, and sugar in a medium bowl. Toss to combine. Let the blackberries sit and macerate while the crust cools.
  • When the crust is just warm, add the cornstarch to the blackberry mixture and mix until combined.
  • Pour the blackberry filling onto the crust.
  • Evenly sprinkle the crumbs and almonds on top of the blackberry filling.
  • Bake the bars for 35-45 minutes, until the blackberries and juices are bubbling around the edges and the topping is golden brown.
  • Allow the bars to cool completely before serving.

 

Lavender Lemon Shortbread Bars

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I absolutely love using lemons in cooking and baking. They’re bright, flavorful and so refreshing, easily making them one of my favorite flavors in both sweet (and savory) cooking. My favorite pasta recipe has lemon in it and, truth be told, I’d chose a citrus-y dessert over a chocolate one any day – like these lavender lemon shortbread bars.

Lavender Lemon Shortbread Bars

I made quite a few batches of these bars when recipe testing, and while I usually test bake things and give them away to friends and neighbors,  these lavender lemon shortbread bars didn’t get the chance to leave my kitchen. Each batch was consumed so quickly that I had to fight to get a piece to test the recipe. They’re that good.

Lavender Lemon Shortbread Bars

I’ve had many great lemon meringue pies and lemon cream tarts over the years,  but until I developed this recipe, I wasn’t too impressed with lemon bars. I’ve made and tried many lemon bars over the years and have had some decent ones, but could never find one that was worth the calories. This lemon lavender shortbread bar has a buttery, rich shortbread crust that doesn’t become a soggy mess, a perfect balance of tart and sweet filling (more on the tart side preferred – especially if the tops of the bars are going to be loaded with confectioner’s sugar) and the right ratio of filling to crust. I prefer my lemon bars more custardy with a smooth texture, and this one does not disappoint.

Lavender Lemon Shortbread Bars

In this recipe, I’ve added lavender to the shortbread crust. I urge you to keep the lavender in this recipe even if you have tried lavender in desserts before and didn’t like it. It is true that lavender can be soapy and overwhelming if overused but that is not the case in this recipe. The lavender is subtle, but compliments and amplifies the lemon flavor. It’s beautifully fragrant and absolutely addictive in this recipe.

Lavender Lemon Shortbread Bars

The shortbread crust starts like many others, by combining the ingredients in a food processor and pulsing, allowing the lavender to break up and blend into the other ingredients before adding softened butter. While the mixture is sandy and clumpy, it is pressed into a pan evenly and set in the refrigerator to chill for 20-30 minutes. After chilling, the crust is baked until it is a light golden brown.

Lavender Lemon Shortbread Bars

While the crust is towards the end of baking, the lemon zest and the sugar are mixed together in a bowl. Rub the zest into the sugar. This releases the oils in the zest adding even more lemon flavors to the bars. Flour is then added, to thicken up the filling, followed by eggs, lemon juice and heavy cream. While the crust is still warm, pour the ingredients onto the crust and bake at a reduced temperature until the center has a slight jiggle. It’s better to err on the side of slightly under baked than over baked. You want that filling to remain more of a custard and not super solid.

Lavender Lemon Shortbread Bars

While I have to admit that many times I’ve dug into these lavender bars with a fork while still hot because they are THAT good, they are best served cut into squares or wedges at room temperature and finished with a dusting of confectioner’s sugar.

Love citrus desserts? Check out these recipes:

Meyer Lemon Ginger Tart with Toasted Honey Meringue

Chocolate Dipped Key Lime Pops

Lavender Lemon Shortbread Bars
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Lavender Lemon Shortbread Bars

Bright, fresh, sweet-tart and citrusy lemon bars with the addition of subtle, fragrant lavender in a crumbly shortbread crust.
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time1 hr
Chill30 mins
Total Time1 hr 45 mins
Course: Dessert
Servings: 9 3x3 squares

Ingredients

For the shortbread base:

  • 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into cubes, room temperature
  • 1 1/4 cups unbleached, all purpose-flour
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1/2 - 3/4 tsp dried culinary lavender

For the lemon filling:

  • 1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest
  • 3 tbsp all purpose flour
  • Pinch of fine sea salt
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream

Instructions

For the Shortbread Crust:

  • Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 8x8 or 9x9 square baking pan with parchment paper. 
  • In a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar, salt and lavender until well blended. You want the lavender to be dispersed and chopped up a bit.
  • Add in the cubes of softened butter and pulse until the mixture is sandy and starts to form clumps.
  • Gently press shortbread mixture into an even layer over the bottom of the prepared pan. Refrigerate for a minimum 30 minutes.
  • Bake crust for 30-35 minutes or until the crust starts to turn a golden brown.
  • Remove shortbread from the oven, let it cool slightly and reduce the temperature to 325 degrees F.

For the lemon filling:

  • In a medium bowl, rub together the sugar and lemon zest between your hands to release the oils from the zest. Whisk in the flour until blended.
  • Add the eggs and whisk briskly so that the sugar doesn't "cook" the eggs and form clumps.
  • Add the lemon juice and cream and whisk to fully incorporate.
  • Pour filling over the warm shortbread and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes, until the center jiggles slightly.
  • Let the bars cool to room temperature, about two hours. The longer they cool, the easier and prettier they are to slice. Transfer bars to a cutting board and cut into squares or wedges. Using a sieve, sprinkle with confectioner's sugar and serve.