These Berry Crumb Bars have a buttery, tender base, a juicy berry filling, and a crisp golden crumble topping. Easy to make with simple ingredients, and packed with blueberries and raspberries, they are the perfect summer treat. We love making these for picnics, potlucks, and barbecues.
What we love about these Berry Bars
Every single bite has amazing flavor and texture. The berry filling is so delicious. We love the raspberry blueberry combination flavored with a little sugar and jam. It’s just so good. The crumb topping and crust are buttery and tender. It’s like a berry pie on steroids. I love baking with berries year-round, but especially in the summer, and these bars are a big favorite here this time of year.
The ingredients and process are simple. I love that the crust doubles as the topping. You use your hands to press 2/3 of the topping into the pan for the crust, mash the berries a little, stir in the filling ingredients, pour the filling over the crust, and then crumble the topping on top.
Looking for other summer dessert recipes? Try our delicious Fruit Pizza Cookies with Berries, our Homemade Strawberry Shortcakes, our Strawberry Glazed Pie, Cherry and Cream Cheese Pie, Old Fashioned Blueberry Cobbler, our Cream Cheese and Strawberry Pie, or our Cherry Bars with Almond Glaze.
What you need to make these Berry Crumb Bars
You will need the following ingredients:
- All-purpose flour
- Light brown sugar
- Baking powder
- Kosher salt
- Unsalted butter
- Vanilla
- Egg
- Raspberries
- Blueberries
- Granulated sugar
- Raspberry jam
- Cornstarch
- Fresh lemon juice
Berry Crumble Bars Substitutions
I know what it’s like when you don’t have everything on hand and the last thing you want to do is run to the store and pick something up. Here are a few ideas to substitute items on the ingredients list if needed:
- You could try a different berry combo or use all of one berry.
- The raspberry jam could also be a different complementary jam like strawberry, blueberry, or blackberry.
- You could substitute salted butter for unsalted and use a pinch of salt or omit it.
- You could substitute flour for cornstarch if needed, but you will need a little more flour.
Step-by-step Instructions
Step 1. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, light brown sugar, baking powder, and kosher salt.
Step 2. Pour in the melted unsalted butter and the vanilla. Use a fork to combine and blend the dry ingredients, butter, and vanilla until there are no dry patches. Add the egg and mix it in with the fork until fully incorporated.
Step 3. Set aside ⅓ of the crumb mixture and press the remaining ⅔ into the prepared pan. Use your fingers or a spatula to press and spread the mixture into an even layer in the pan. Bake the crust for 8 minutes.
Step 4. In a small bowl, use a fork or potato masher to roughly mash the remaining ¾ cup of blueberries and ¾ cup of raspberries together. Make sure all the berries have been pierced at least once. Mix in with the berry mixture the granulated sugar, raspberry jam, cornstarch, water, and lemon juice. Pour the berry filling over the partially baked crust and use a spatula to spread it evenly in the pan.
Step 5. Sprinkle the berries that were set aside over the top of the filling, and crumble the remaining dough evenly over the berries and berry filling. Bake for 30-35 minutes, the top should be lightly golden brown.
Step 6: Cool the bars on a cooling rack to room temperature. While the bars are cooling, run a thin knife between the bars and sides of the pan not lined with parchment to make sure the berry filling isn’t sticking to the pan. Cover the bars and refrigerate for one hour. Using the parchment paper sling, remove the bars from the pan and slice them into 16 square bars before serving.
Tips
- I recommend keeping parchment paper on hand; it is especially helpful when baking bars. Lining your pan with parchment paper makes it a sort of sling to help get the bars out of the pan for even slicing. It prevents the bars from sticking to the pan, and pans are much easier to clean up. Also, the parchment paper creates a thin layer between the bars and the pan, which helps promote even browning and prevents hot spots on your pan that may cause the bars to burn.
- Also, I love my USA 8×8 square baking pan; it cooks so evenly, is high quality, and long-lasting. I particularly love the straight-edged corners when cooking dessert bars for uniform pieces.
Frequently Asked Questions
| Can Berry Crumb Bars be made in advance? |
| a. Yes, these bars are easily made in advance before serving. They already have to be made a little in advance and refrigerated for an hour before slicing to make them easier to slice into bars. While I think they are best within the first day or two of making, they can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 5-10 days or kept at room temperature for up to 3 days. I prefer refrigerating them. The crumb may soften a little over time, but they will still taste good and stay firm as bars. You can also freeze them for 3-6 months and let them thaw in the fridge overnight before serving. b. The filling can be made a day in advance and covered and refrigerated before using. I would keep it out at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking. c. With the melted butter in the crumb topping, if you want to make it in advance, I would press the 2/3 of the crumb into the pan first before covering and refrigerating, and refrigerate the topping separately in an airtihgt container. Bring both to room temperature for 30 minutes or more before baking. |
| How do I store Berry Crumb Bars? |
| a. Store the bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5-10 days or at room temperature for up to 3 days. I use a Tupperware container and use parchment paper to separate the layers when stacking, so they don’t stick together. They can also be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3-6 months. |
Berry Crumb Bars
These Berry Crumb Bars have a buttery, tender base, a juicy berry filling, and a crisp golden crumble topping. Easy to make with simple ingredients, and packed with blueberries and raspberries, they are the perfect summer treat. We love making these for picnics, potlucks, and barbecues.
20
minutes43
minutes90
minutes16
square barsIngredients
Crumb Bars:
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cups light brown sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (¾ cup)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
Berry Filling:
1 cup blueberries
1 cup raspberries
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup raspberry jam
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Lightly coat an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray, line the pan with parchment paper, extending the paper over the edges to form a sling, and lightly coat the parchment paper with cooking spray.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, light brown sugar, baking powder, and kosher salt. Pour in the melted unsalted butter and the vanilla.
- Use a fork to combine and blend the dry ingredients, butter, and vanilla until there are no dry patches. Add the egg and mix it in with the fork until fully incorporated.
- Set aside ⅓ of the crumb mixture and press the remaining ⅔ into the prepared pan. Use your fingers or a spatula to press and spread the mixture into an even layer in the pan. Bake the crust for 8 minutes.
- While the crust is baking, set aside ¼ cup of the blueberries and ¼ cup of the raspberries.
- In a small bowl, use a fork or potato masher to roughly mash the remaining ¾ cup of blueberries and ¾ cup of raspberries together. Make sure all the berries have been pierced at least once.
- Mix in with the berry mixture the granulated sugar, raspberry jam, cornstarch, water, and lemon juice. Pour the berry filling over the partially baked crust and use a spatula to spread it evenly in the pan.
- Sprinkle the berries that were set aside over the top of the filling, and crumble the remaining dough evenly over the berries and berry filling.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, the top should be lightly golden brown. Cool the bars on a cooling rack to room temperature. While the bars are cooling, run a thin knife between the bars and sides of the pan not lined with parchment to make sure the berry filling isn’t sticking to the pan. Cover the bars and refrigerate for one hour.
- Using the parchment paper sling, remove the bars from the pan and slice them into 16 square bars before serving.
Notes
- Greasing the pan and lining it with the parchment paper ensures that the lining doesn’t move around while you are pressing in the crumb mixture, that you can pull the bars out of the pan in one piece to slice before serving, and that the sticky berry filling doesn’t stick to the parchment paper or pan.
