To brighten up these picnic-perfect bars even more, we add fresh lime juice to the batter for a citrusy sweet-tart kick. Customize with your own mix of available farmers’ market berries or try pitted fresh cherries, too, for equally delicious results. Find more summer cookies and bars in our 2018 July/August Issue, here!
Summer Berry Crumb Bars
Makes 15 to 20 servings
Ingredients
- 3 cups (375 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1⅓ cups (267 grams) granulated sugar, divided
- 1 tablespoon (3 grams) lime zest
- 1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon (2.25 grams) kosher salt
- 1 cup (227 grams) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 large egg (50 grams), lightly beaten
- 1½ tablespoons (12 grams) cornstarch
- 2 cups (260 grams) fresh raspberries
- 1 cup (147 grams) chopped fresh strawberries
- 1 cup (160 grams) fresh blackberries
- 1 cup (170 grams) fresh blueberries
- 3 tablespoons (15 grams) fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon (4 grams) vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly grease a 13x9-inch baking pan; line pan with parchment paper, letting excess extend over sides of pan.
- In a large bowl, stir together flour, 1 cup (200 grams) sugar, zest, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in cold butter until pea-size pieces remain. Using a fork, stir in egg until blended and mixture is crumbly. Reserve 1½ cups dough, and refrigerate. Press remaining 3½ cups dough into bottom of prepared pan.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- In a large bowl, stir together cornstarch and remaining ⅓ cup (67 grams) sugar. Gently fold in berries, lime juice, and vanilla until combined. Scatter berry mixture over prepared crust. Crumble reserved 1½ cups chilled dough over berries, pressing to form small clumps.
- Bake until top is golden, about 30 minutes more. Let cool completely. Refrigerate overnight. Using excess parchment as handles, remove from pan, and cut into bars.
[…] found this recipe in this season’s edition of Bake From Scratch magazine. As soon as I flipped through the pages and saw this recipe it was love at first sight. […]
Okay…I made this recipe EXACTLY as written. It took nearly 50 minutes (not 30) to cook the berries and brown the top on the second bake. So close to 90 minutes total. Then I made the recipe the way all the other fruit crumb bar recipes are done (with the same volumes and measurements) – and put everything in the oven together – and after 50 minutes, the top was golden and the berries were actually cooked through (like they are in your photos). Ingredients are wonderful and measurements are on target – but the method and baking times are way off. Berries don’t even get close to being cooked through at 30 minues.
Hi Wendy! We’re checking with our test kitchen to look into the bake time issue for you and will get back to you shortly!
Should the crust have been cooled before adding the fruit and topping? Seemed strange to pour the fruit over the hot crust.
Hi Lynn!
Thanks so much for reaching out! Because the pan will be heading straight back into the oven, it is not necessary to let the crust cool before filling. Happy baking!
These were excellent. Everyone loved them.