Blackberry Pie Bars
Real talk: can you ever have too many pie bar recipes?
The answer must be no, because on my blog alone we already have four variations. Apple & Raspberry, Pecan, Plum & Blackberry, and a very early recipe for Lemon & Blueberry. It’s important to have options, right? Lets make this our annual summer tradition. The sun beats down upon us, we start being invited to BBQs, and a new pie bar recipe is born.
Blackberry Pie Bars – let’s do this!
Up until I made the blackberry & apple crumble of last year, blackberries were never really my thing. I more or less considered them the runt of the berry family – raspberry’s ugly sibling, if you will. I have no idea where this misconception came, but I’m thankful to have seen the error of my ways.
These Blackberry Pie Bars are, without a doubt, the best of all the other recipes on my blog. It starts with a simple – but infinitely delicious – butter base, that gets par-baked while we ready ourselves. Butter is combined with oats, sugar, flour & spice for the topping. I always leave some of the crumbs on the larger side for extra crunchy buttery bites. Blackberries are lightly tossed with sugar & a barely noticeable amount of warming spices. The fruit is spread over the crust, before being generously doused with the crumble topping. Everything is baked together until the juices are bubbling and the smell of butter has filled the whole house.
Buttery, crumbly, fruity, lightly spiced. Your summer days need these – I promise. Happy baking!
Blackberry Pie Bars
INGREDIENTS
for the base:
- 170 g salted butter
- 225 g plain flour
- 60 g light brown sugar
for the crumble topping:
- 125 g plain flour
- 45 g jumbo oats
- 100 g light brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 115 g salted butter, at room temp
for the filling:
- 1 tsp vanilla extract*
- 50 g caster sugar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1.4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 375 g blackberries
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 180C & grease & line a 9 x 9-inch brownie tin with baking parchment; set aside.
- First, make the crust. Place the butter in a saucepan over a medium to high heat & leave to brown. Swirl the butter occasionally. After about 5 minutes, the foam should subside & you should start to see a light brown colour, & it should smell nutty. Remove from the heat & pour into a different bowl to cool to room temperature. (I’m impatient, so our butter was promptly put into the fridge to cool down.)
- In a large bowl, combine the flour with the brown sugar. Pour in the cooled brown butter & mix until a ball of dough forms. Neatly press the dough into the prepared tin until evenly dispersed & bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until lightly golden. Set aside to cool.
- Next, make the crisp topping. Using your fingertips, combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl until crumbs start to form. Set aside.
- Now, the filling. Add the sugar, vanilla extract, & lemon juice to a large bowl & use your fingers to fully incorporate. Mix in the spices and the flour. Finally, add the blackberries to the bowl & toss thoroughly.
- Pour the filling over the par-baked crust & sprinkle the crisp topping evenly over the top. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the fruits start to release their juices.
- Leave to cool completely before slicing. Enjoy slightly warm with some whipped cream!
Did you make this recipe? I’d love to know! Please leave a comment & a rating below, or tag me on Instagram @imvcki. Thank you so much for supporting Passionate Baker!
Please tag me on instagram if you make these – I’d love to know!