Blueberry Pie Bars - Bless This Mess

I feel like I’ve seen so many cookie recipes this week that my head may pop! It is definitely cookie season, but let’s not forget the beauty of the cookie bar. I always make cookie cutter, drop, and spritz cookies for my goodie plates but I never forget the power of the cookie bar. By the time I’ve hand-crafted a million other cookies I always need and want a cookie bar to fill up the plate with a fraction of the effort.

This is just the thing you’ve been looking for to round out your goodie plate or to take to your next party. Blueberry Pie Bars are a perfect little bite of blueberry pie with streusel topping that comes together in a snap. It is a pleasant change from all the chocolate, mint, and ginger that make strong appearance this time of year.

I made these a few weeks ago and had the pictures all edited and ready to go. I wasn’t sure if I’d have time to get them posted before Christmas or not but wasn’t too worried about it. I got an email this week about a blueberry recipe contest and an invitation to enter; perfect timing or fate I asked myself? I thought it a good omen that I already had the work done and just needed to write up the recipe and post it. You can check out littlebluedynamos.com for more recipes and fun tips on blueberries and hopefully you’ll see this recipe with a big fat “winner” sticker next to it soon!

Wish me luck and make these soon…

blueberry and oat bar recipe, how to make oat bars with blueberries

Blueberry Pie Bars
Printable Recipe
Makes 24 bars

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup blueberry preserves or jam
1 T. fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/4 sticks butter, softened and cut into tablespoons
2/3 cup old-fashion rolled oats
1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a 9 by 13 inch baking pan with foil so that the foil over hangs the sides by a few inches and then butter the foil.

In a small bowl combine the fresh or frozen blueberries, preserves, and lemon juice. Use a fork to mash the berries so that a bit of the fruit remains. Stir to combine and set aside.

Add 16 tablespoons of butter (leaving 2 tablespoons for later), flour, sugar, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer or in the food processor. Process until the mixture become a uniform texture and color, about 1 minute. Reserve 1 1/4 cups of the butter mixture for the topping. Press the remaining butter mixture into the foil-lined pan. Press the mixture together in the bottom of the pan using the bottom of a cup. Bake the crust until the edges start to brown, around 15 minutes.

Spread the blueberry mixture evenly over the hot crust.

Add the oats, brown sugar, and remaining 2 tablespoons of softened butter to the reserved flour mixture and stir to combine. Pinch the mixture between your fingers to make small clumps of streusel and drop them evenly over the fruit. Once you’ve made lots of streusel lumps sprinkle any remaining topping over the fruit.

Bake the bars until the blueberry filling begins to bubble and the topping is a deep golden color, around 24 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the bars cool completely in the pan. Remove the bars from the pan by pulling on the foil, cut into squares, and serve. Store any extras in an airtight container.

Notes: If you are using frozen berries just give them a chance to thaw a bit before using so that you can mash them with a fork. Mashing frozen things is tough work.
These were great for breakfast… I’m just saying. They do have fruit!