Fruit Crumb Bars

A few weeks ago these Blueberry Crumb Bars started popping up all over my Google Reader. Turns out they were originally posted on the Smitten Kitchen blog (which is a new love of mine). After seeing these in so many blogs I decided that I had to make them, and D quickly agreed. I whipped these up one night after work and they were incredibly easy to make. They turn out moist and delicious, especially with a dollop of whipped cream on top.

These were so good in fact that I decided I needed to use this recipe with different fruit, in the name of science of course, to see if they were as good without the lovely berries. Luckily, this opportunity game faster than I thought it would. One of the women I work with has a peach tree and it was producing gorgeous, juicy peaches faster than she and her family could eat them, so she started bringing big bags of them to work. I took a couple of bags of them: we froze some, are eating some whole, and some of them became a peach crumb. I cut the peaches into thin slices, covered them in sugar and let them sit for a few minutes while I made the crumb part of this recipe. To make the peach crumb I simply followed the blueberry recipe and substituted the peaches for the berries. Both of these are incredible and I totally recommend you try these (if you haven't already). I'm hoping to get my hands on some apples soon and try this again (all in the name of science, of course).

Blueberry Crumb Bars

Source: Smitten Kitchen

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup cold butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces)

1 egg

1/4 teaspoon salt

Zest and juice of one lemon

4 cups fresh blueberries

1/2 cup white sugar

4 teaspoons cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 inch pan.
In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and lemon zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.
In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.
Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.