Dessert for a crowd or just as an afternoon snack, these blueberry pie bars are always a big hit. Juicy blueberries in a buttery crust are perfectly packaged into portable squares. If a cookie and a pie had a baby this would be the outcome.
Being able to use fresh or frozen fruit, or even home-canned or store-bought pie filling, make this an easy versatile recipe.
This is definitely a great dish to bring to a potluck or BBQ. I cut rather large squares and get 15 squares per pan. I have a low-sided 13 x 9 jelly roll pan or a more standard 13 x 9 -inch pan. Both work well. Although I do put a separate foil-lined cookie sheet on the next rack down in the oven when I use the jelly roll pan. I am always worried it will bubble over.
These bars are also amazing if you pop them into the microwave for 20 seconds and serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. But no one was willing to let me borrow their plate to take a picture of that.
Blueberry Pie Bars
Ingredients
Pie Filling - or sub one 21 oz can pie filling
- 2½ tablespoons corn starch (18g)
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (125g)
- 2½ cups fresh or frozen blueberries (425g)
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons water (143g)
- 1¼ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
For the Crust
- ¾ cup butter softened (170g)
- 1½ cups granulated sugar (300g)
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour (270g)
For the Glaze
- ½ cup confectioners' sugar (57g)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream or milk (anything but skim)
Instructions
Pie filling
- In a heavy medium-sized saucepan, whisk together the cornstarch and sugar until there are no lumps. Mix in the water, blueberries, and lemon juice
- Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until the mixture has thickened. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly while you make the crust.
Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Grease a 13 x 9-inch pan with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl or with a stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, and salt. You want to mix for 3-4 minutes or until it is light and fluffy.
- Mix in one egg at a time, scraping the bowl between each egg. Scrape down the bowl one more time, then mix in the vanilla. Mix in the flour just until combined.
- Reserve 1 heaping cup of the batter and set it aside. Place the remaining dough into the prepared pan and spread it out evenly to cover the bottom of the pan.
- Spread the pie filling over the top of the dough. Drop spoonfuls of the batter that was set aside on top of the pie filling.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Allow the bars to cool completely.
Glaze
- In a small bowl, whisk all of the glaze ingredients together. Start with the smaller amount of liquid and add more in small increments until the desired consistency.
- Open a sandwich-size zip-top bag over a tall glass. Pour the glaze into the bag and seal. Cut a small hole in the corner of the bag and drizzle the glaze over the cooled bars.
