These buttery crumb bars are filled with mixed berries and a touch of lemon. This simple recipe uses the same mixture for the the crust and topping making ait an easy dessert you can whip up all summer long.
If you love baking with berries this is the recipe for you. Every bite is bursting with summer flavors and you can pack them up and take them wherever you are headed.
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Why you’ll love this recipe
- Made with basic ingredients
- The crust and topping are made from the mixture
- Filled with the fresh berries of your choice
- Flavored with vanilla and a touch of lemon
- Great for feeding a crowd
- Easy to slice and serve
Recipe overview
Crust and topping: A buttery, lemon-scented dough is used as both the crust and topping. Press half of it into the bottom of a pan, and reserve the rest for crumbling over the fruit.
Filling: Here’s where you can adapt this recipe to suit your taste (or whichever berries you have on hand). I like a mixture of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries (as pictured). You can absolutely use all of one berry or a mixture of berries. Cornstarch thickens the berry mixture and a touch of lemon complements the fresh flavors.
Recipe tips
- Line your pan with parchment paper or foil for easy removal
- When grating lemon zest, only use the yellow part of the skin, not the white pith
- Mix up the types of berries to suit your tastes
- Chill in the fridge before cutting, this makes for cleaner slices
- Plan to make these the day you are serving them (ideally) or up to 24 hours in advance.
- If you love a crumb topping, you should also try our Raspberry Crumble Cookies
Serving options
These bars can be served chilled or at room temperature. Serve as-is or top with ice cream or whipped cream.
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Note July 2018: I changed this recipe just slightly. After a few comments requesting a larger quantity, I increased the recipe to make a 9×13 pan. I also added a bit of lemon to brighten the berry flavors.
More summer desserts
Recipe
Mixed Berry Crumble Bars
Ingredients
Crust and Topping:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- finely grated zest of 1 small lemon, optional, but so good!
- 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Berry Filling:
- 4 ½ cups chopped fresh berries, see note
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
- juice of 1 small lemon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a 9×13 pan with foil or parchment, and butter or spray with non-stick spray.
For the crust and topping:
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine granulated sugar, baking powder, flour, and salt. Add lemon zest, butter, egg, and vanilla. Beat on low speed until the butter is evenly distributed in small pieces and the mixture is crumbly.
- Dump a little more than half of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Use your hand or the bottom of a measuring cup to evenly press the dough into the pan.
Filling:
- Gently stir together all ingredients until well incorporated.
- Spread the filling over the crust, then crumble the remaining dough over the top of the berries.
- Bake for approximately 40-45 minutes, until the top is light golden brown and the fruit is bubbling. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely. For the cleanest slices refrigerate before cutting.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Sandhya
Delicious
Carin Doplihar
Have made these twice, once with fresh berries and today with frozen mixed from Costco. Have to say came out about the same! Awesome!!! The frozen ones I did NOT thaw but mixed with the 4 1/2 tsp cornstarch and let sit while I made the crust. I used half a lemon for the juice and baked about 46 minutes. Came out great, not runny.
Allison
That’s great to hear! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Bonnie
Wonderful recipe, I gifted some to my adult son and he asked me to make him more!
Allison
That’s great to hear! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Selah
this was so good! I had so much fun making these berry crumble bars. I’m a 11 year old girl and I love trying new recipes. my family loved them so much too!😊❤️
Allison
That’s great to hear! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Mema Diva
I added shredded coconut and oats to the cookie crumble-TASTY
Allison
Great idea! I’m glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Laurie
Can frozen berries be used instead of fresh
Allison
Hi, Laurie. I have not tried it but some readers have. You can check the comment section to se what they did. Enjoy!
JEM
I make this frequently for my kids with whatever berries are in season (on sale), although I cut the sugar a bit without anyone noticing. I also do the bottom layer and then stir in some oats and cinnamon to the remaining dough for a slightly different crumble on top.
Allison
Great idea! Thanks for sharing your experience. 🙂
Chantal
Just wasted 4 and a half cups of fruits !!! Followed every step and it never did some sort of crust and just a a big mess of golden mush … doesnt work at all ……
Allison
Hi, Chantel. Sorry to hear that. Many people have had success with this recipe so it should work as written. Did you make any changes to the ingredients?
lori
I tried this the same as the directions say and it was delicious. Then i tried it with half the butter. I pressed 2/3 of the flour mixture on the bottom. I added a little extra lemon juice to the berries. Then I saved some of the berry juice and sprinkled the top layer. This replaced the missing butter. it was just as good.
Allison
Thanks for sharing your experience. 🙂
Cathy
Can I freeze the bars?
Allison
Hi, Cathy. I haven’t tried it. I would assume so, but the crumb topping might soften a bit after thawing.