Blueberry Crumb Bars

Lately, everywhere I go in the blogosphere I keep seeing Blueberry Crumb Bars, all inspired by Smitten Kitchen's teriffic recipe. I knew I had to try them. Juicy blueberries with a bite of tangy lemon and a golden brown crumb topping made these irresistible. I took a batch over to a friend's house. She and her husband loved them, and another neighbor who dropped by kept having "just one more little bite". Totally a Winner.

Blueberry Crumb Bars
From Smitten Kitchen (Adapted from AllRecipes.com)

1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cold butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces)
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest and juice of one lemon
4 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch pan.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and lemon zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.

3. In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. (This took an extra 10 to 15 minutes in my oven.) Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Yield: I cut these into 24 smallish rectangles. I found that these taste the best at room temperature and are also fabulous warmed in the microwave and topped with ice cream.