Blueberry Crumb Bars

5

Mmmmm, blueberries…. except that after awhile there always seems to be too many in the fridge Particularly when I’m alone for a week while Kirk is out of town. So what to do with three cups of blueberries that are perfectly ripe but I just can’t eat them all?

Blueberry crumb bars! That’s what! Mmmmm….

Crust:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
½ cup sliced almonds

Filling:

3 cups fresh blueberries (about 15 ounces)
1 cup blueberry preserves (10 to 11 ounces) (this was my jam from last year when I didn’t know what to do with them all!)
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel

For crust:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter bottom of 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

Whisk flour, oats, sugar, salt, and cinnamon in large bowl. Add 1 cup butter; cut in until mixture sticks together in small clumps.

Transfer 2 cups to medium bowl; mix in almonds and reserve for topping.

Press remaining crumb mixture evenly onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake crust until golden and just firm to touch, about 20 minutes.

Cool crust for 10 minutes before filling.

For filling:

Mix all filling ingredients in medium bowl.

Spread evenly over crust in pan, then sprinkle reserved topping over top of the fruit filling.

Bake bars until filling bubbles thickly at edges and topping is golden brown, about 40 minutes; cool in pan on rack. Cut lengthwise into 4 strips, then cut each strip into 6 pieces, forming 24 bars.

---

Only thing I’d change? I wasn’t wild about the almonds in there. But I’m not really big on nuts in baked goods. Take ’em or leave ’em. Either way, these are pretty yummy.

Update: One caveat. These are better the day you make them. If you put them in a sealed container they go soft and I can’t say I care for them as much. So if you have a lunch or something and need to take a bar, great for a group. But they didn’t seem to keep all that well.