Blackberry Crumb Bars are an easy, sweet summer breakfast. Bakery-style layer bars with a buttery crumb topping and crust with a fresh blackberry filling.
What happens when Crumb Cake gets a Blackberry Pie filling? This delicious and easy Baked Good Recipe that is perfect for breakfast on-the-go, brunch, or a light summer dessert!
BLACKBERRY CRUMB BARS
Like these Creamy Lemon Crumb Bars, this is a great recipe for bakery treats made at home. These Blackberry Crumb Bars are just as delicious and simple to make with a pastry crust made from common ingredients that doubles at the crumb topping. The fresh blackberry filling is perfect for summer time when berries are super ripe and can be found everywhere cheap.
Blackberry Crumb Bars are one of the easiest breakfast recipes. No need for a stand mixer, adding ingredients slowly, or even softening butter. The dough for Blackberry Crumb Bars is made in a food processor and the crumbly dough is also the top layer. If you don’t have a food processor, do this by hand with a pastry cutter, forks, or butter knives, like you would a pie crust.
This recipe for Blackberry Crumb Bars has a slightly sweet crust to allow the natural sweetness of the fresh berries to come through. The crust is soft and light, but thick enough that these bars can be eaten by hand. It’s could be compared to a cross between a cake and pie crust, which makes it perfect for fresh fruit fillings!
Even though fresh blackberries can be found all year round, they are about twice as much when they are out of season. They also tend to be more tart and less juicy. If you want to make Blackberry Crumb Bars when they are not in season, use frozen blackberries. Frozen fruits and vegetables are picked at the peak of their season you won’t sacrifice taste.
If you are using frozen blackberries, thaw and drain thoroughly and pat dry. You don’t want too much liquid or your bars will get really gooey. You can use canned blackberry pie filling but don’t add the sugar. You still want to add the lemon juice and cornstarch to bring out the flavor and thicken the canned filling.
Blackberry Crumb Bars are great for summer cookouts, picnics, and potlucks. They are pie-cakes people can eat with their hands and they last for days at room temperature, so no need to worry about them getting too warm. For a tasty summer dessert at home, top warm bars with a Vanilla Ice Cream or Whipped Cream like you would with pie!
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VARIATIONS ON BLACKBERRY CRUMB BARS
- Fruit: Use seasonal fruit all year round in Blackberry Crumb Bars. Peaches, plums, or this Apple Pie Filling would taste delicious. For bananas, slice and toss in cinnamon sugar.
- Berries: Any fresh berries can be used in these bars like strawberries, blueberries, or mulberries. Make a Mixed Berry Crumb Bars by substituting 1 cup of another berry.
- Crumble: Add crunch to the crumb topping with a 1/4 cup rolled oats or chopped pecans after you have pressed the crust into the baking pan. You can sprinkle extra sugar over the crumb topping too for more sweetness.
- Muffins: Press the crust mixture into a lined or well greased muffin tin. Divide the blackberry filling evenly among muffin cups and top with crumble topping. Bake for 22-26 minutes at 375 degrees, or until cooked through and golden brown.
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HOW TO STORE BLACKBERRY CRUMB BARS
- Serve: These Blackberry Crumb Bars are best at room temperature or warm from the oven, cooled about 10 minutes before serving.
- Store: Line an airtight container with a paper towel to absorb moisture. Layer parchment paper between bars if stacking. You can keep these bars at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- Freeze: Once bars have cooled, place in a sealed container with parchment paper between layers. Freeze Blackberry Crumb Bars for up to 3 months and thaw overnight on the counter to serve.
Blackberry Crumb Bars
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar , packed
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 cups fresh blackberries
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and spray an 8x8 pan with baking spray.
- Add flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, butter and egg to a food processor and pulse until a crumbly dough starts coming together.
- Add half the dough to your baking pan and press down in an even layer gently.
- In a large bowl mix the blackberries, lemon juice, 1/4 cup sugar and cornstarch.
- Pour mixture over the crust.
- Crumble the remaining flour mixture over the top of the blackberries.
Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown.
These are easy and really tasty – just the right level of sweetness!
Thanks, Judi.
I picked way too many blackberries last weekend and now I’m trying different recipes. Loved this recipe, Sabrina. Just the right size. My first attempt with a different recipe resulted in a very juicy version that required a spoon. And ice cream. Tasted great but not what I was going for. Your recipe made it to the family boat (none came back). The bars held together for easy serving. Thanks!
Yay!! I’m glad you all enjoyed it!
These blackberry crumb bars are so good! They’d also be amazing made with blueberries I think.
Oh, definitely!
The best! So easy to throw together and perfect for using up fresh berries!
Thanks, Suzy!
these are the best! I can never eat just one because I’m always craving more
I can totally relate! Thanks for the 5 stars.