Blueberry Crumb Bars

I just got back from a relaxing week at the beach.  It was also a week away from my kitchen, a week away from baking, house cleaning & laundry.  We stayed in a beach house in Delaware right on the beach with two other families.  Breakfast went from early risers to late sleepers and only about 3-4 of us eating at the same time.  Dinner, on the other hand, was a sight to behold of 11 people all wanting to be fed at once.  It was interesting for me to see my daughter (an only child) in the mix of 5 other children...she fit right in and for a week it was as if she had a bunch of siblings.  Anyway, we got home yesterday and I spent hours doing laundry and today was a much needed trip to the grocery store.  ALDI had blueberries on sale for $1.29...awesome deal considering they cost $3.99 at Giant. Well, needless to say, the blueberries jumped right into my cart.  I was thinking of maybe using them in pancakes but I remembered seeing a blog a few weeks ago about blueberry crumb bars so I searched for the recipe.  This recipe is on a bunch of different sites actually but the one I remembered seeing was on Brown Eyed Baker.com.  I didn't change a thing except that I cut the recipe in half (the recipe below is the full version).

It was so enjoyable to be back in my own kitchen after being away and although I did some cooking on vacation I was anxious to do some baking.  My daughter helped to stir the ingredients and even stole a few blueberries.  The bars turned out perfect and I served them with vanilla ice cream.  We used forks but they are sturdy enough to pick up with your fingers like a brownie.  I was thinking of doing low-carb this week but I'm guessing I won't be able to resist having one of these with my coffee tomorrow morning.  Happy baking!

INGREDIENTS:For the Crumb:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 egg

For the Blueberry Filling:
4 cups fresh blueberries
½ cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch
Juice of one lemon

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.

2. Make the Crumb: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter, and then the egg (the dough will be crumbly). Press half of dough into the prepared pan.

3. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently fold in the blueberries to coat evenly with the sugar mixture. Spread the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust, drizzling any excess juice in the bowl over the filling. Crumble the remaining dough evenly over the blueberry layer.

4. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the top is light golden brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

Original Recipe