Next to peanut butter/chocolate, blueberry/lemon is one of my all-time favorite flavor combinations. When I pulled these bars from the oven, my entire house smelled like happiness.
The original recipe I found for these bars didn’t include blueberries, but as soon as I saw it, I knew I had to through some berries in the mix. If you layer them on top, the liquid they release just melds a bit into lemon curd layer.
For this recipe, I didn’t make my own lemon curd. You can! Growing up, my grandma and mom made jams and jellies from scratch, but never lemon curd. If you want to make your own lemon curd, here is a recipe to try out from Ina Garten. Again, I haven’t tried this myself, but Ina’s recipes are typically delicious, so that’s where I would start if I wanted to make my own.
If you buy lemon curd, remember that a higher-quality version will typically make your bars tastier. Some cheaper lemon curd has a weird, pucker-y aftertaste. I love Mackays lemon curd. They aren’t paying me and don’t even know I’m writing this post… that’s just the best readily-available brand of lemon curd I’ve tried so far. If you have a favorite lemon curd brand, let me know in the comments!
Now… if you don’t like blueberries (*gasp*!), you could instead use blackberries or strawberries. You might need to bake them slightly longer, based on the juiciness of the berry you use. When they come out of the over, you want the top crumb to have a little color, and the juices/curd will be bubbling a bit, but not runny.
Here’s the printable recipe:
Blueberry Lemon Crumb Bars
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup of butter
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/8 cup light brown sugar
- 2 1/4 cup flour
- 12 oz jar of lemon curd
- 4-6 oz blueberries
Instructions
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Melt the butter and mix with the sugars, combing well to ensure there are no lumps of sugar.
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Add in the flour. The mixture will be very dry, but should create a dough of sorts when pressed together.
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Press two thirds of the mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 pan to create a bottom layer.
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Spread the lemon curd evenly over dough, then sprinkle with blueberries. Press the berries slightly into the curd.
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Sprinkle the remaining dry mixture over the berries/curd layer. Do not attempt to press into a dough. This layer should create a crumb top.
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Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, until the crumbs are slightly browned, and the fruit layer is bubbling.
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Allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
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Cut into bars and serve, or store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
If you love lemon as much as I do, here are some other lemon recipes to check out…
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