Fresh fruit is a blessing! It heralds the arrival of summer, and all of the joy that comes with this season. Picnics, long days, warmth, and fun with family and friends are just some of the great parts of summer. If you have some fresh blackberries on hand, you need to make this recipe this summer.
These blackberry bars will definitely delight anyone who tries them. They're sweet, but still retain some of the distinctive tartness associated with many fruit desserts. Blackberries are often under-utilized in desserts, in favor of more common and popular fruits. While those fruits are great, we want to shine the spotlight on blackberries for a little while.
You won't need too many ingredients for this recipe. Many of the ingredients, like flour, powdered sugar, butter, and cinnamon, are standard baking fare. You probably already have them sitting in your pantry. Other ingredients are a little more unique, like cornstarch and lemon zest.
This isn't the easiest dessert recipe to make, but we wouldn't call it terribly hard. It will be more time-consuming for beginners, so make sure to allocate enough time to make this recipe the right way. As long as you follow the steps as they're written and don't rush, you'll do just fine!
Blackberry Bars
Ingredients:
Crust:
1 cup flour
6 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold butter, cubed
Filling:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
2 cups fresh blackberries
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
Topping:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons cold butter, cubed
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-inch square metal pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
2. Combine flour, powdered sugar, and salt in a bowl and cut the butter in with a pastry cutter. Mix until well-combined.
3. Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan and bake until the surface is dry and the edges are browned, about 15-20 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes before adding filling.
4. Combine the 1/4 cup sugar and cornstarch. Stir in the blackberries and zest until combined. Set aside.
5. Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt for topping in a medium size bowl. Add butter and vanilla and cut in with a pastry cutter to form coarse crumbs.
6. Spread the filling on the cooled crust. Sprinkle the topping over the filling.
7. Bake in preheated oven until the topping has browned lightly and the berry filling is bubbling, about 40 minutes.
8. Cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into bars.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©R. Gino Santa Maria / Shutterfree, Llc / dreamstime – License / Original