Buttery crumb bars filled with mixed berries and a touch of lemon. This simple recipe uses the same mixture for the the crust and topping.
Hello, friends! I hope you are enjoying a beautiful summer weekend. I am stopping in to make a few suggestions for your 4th of July menu. Up first: Berry Crumble Bars!
I first made these Berry Crumble Bars several years ago. To be honest, they fell off my radar until I made them again recently for my daughter’s birthday. I was immediately reminded how great they are, and I knew I needed to bring them to your attention right away.
Bonus: They are the perfect dessert for your 4th of July festivities. The colors are patriotic, every bite is bursting with summer flavors, and you can pack them up and take them wherever you are headed (pool, beach, lake, BBQ, etc).
Berry Crumble Bars
- 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.
- Berries! 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 mix of 2 or 3. Cornstarch thickens the berry mixture and a touch of lemon compliments the fresh flavors.
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Tips for Berry Crumble Bars
- 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 berries to suit your tastes.
- Chill these completely in the fridge before cutting, as this makes for cleaner slices.
- Leftovers? Highly unlikely, but if you do have a few bars leftover, put them in the freezer and enjoy them another time.
These bars really are the perfect summer dessert. We like them straight from the fridge or at room temperature. And maybe, just maybe, you could justify eating one for breakfast. Fruit = breakfast food, right?
If you really want to take these over the top, you can serve them with ice cream or whipped cream. I happened to have vanilla blackberry swirl ice cream in my freezer, and it was the amazing on these bars. Vanilla ice cream or strawberry ice cream would also be great.
Have a safe and happy 4th of July! Check out the list below for more summer recipe inspiration.
- 4TH OF JULY RECIPES
- Berry Crisp – A simple dessert made with fresh or frozen berries.
- Berry Trifle – Easy and elegant!
- Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie – You can add blueberries, too
- Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp – Enjoy it warm, cold or room temp.
- Blueberry Pie with Whipped Cream and Fresh Berries – RED, WHITE AND BLUE!
- Sugar Cookie Fruit Tarts – Cutest dessert ever.
- S’mores Dip – Indoor s’mores ready in 10 minutes.
- Strawberry Shortcake Cake – Top it with sparklers!
- Strawberry Sangria – Dangerously delicious.
- Tortellini Pasta Salad – Fresh, colorful and loaded with flavor.
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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.
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 9x13 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 minutes, until the top is light golden brown. Transfer pan to rack to cool, before cutting into squares. I have also refrigerated these, after cooling to room temp.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen.
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Marie
These look great! Went to make them and I only have King Arthur bread flour or K/A unbleached self Rising Flour. Can I use either of those? Do I have to make any adjustments?
Allison
Hi, Marie. I would try the self rising flour and eliminate the baking powder and salt (if your flour has salt in it already). Good luck playing around with it.
Jane
These berry crumble bars are amazing!! I used frozen berries and doubled the amount of corn starch as someone had recommended on one of the comments below. However, I think I used a little too much of the lemon juice ( I actually used concentrated lemon juice as getting fresh, good quality lemons in my area is a bit hard at this time of the year). Since the recipe called for the juice of one small lemon, I thought two tablespoons? But I realized that was a mistake when the middle part of my crumble bars turned out to be a bit soggy. However, it tasted great!!! So, next time I make this again, I might reduce the lemon juice to maybe one tablespoon or even one teaspoon. What would you suggest, Allison? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you for sharing this recipe, too!!:)
Allison
Hi, Jane. I’m glad you enjoyed them! I think 1 tablespoon of concentrated lemon juice would be enough. Also, some of the moisture in the center of the bars could have been from the frozen berries. Next time try adding less berries (if using frozen), or just be careful that they aren’t piled too high in the center. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Jane
Will do! Thanks for the suggestion!:)
Jennifer
I want to make these for my father but he has to watch his sugar intake. Can honey be substituted for sugar? Or do you have a suggestion for a sugar substitute?
Allison
Hi, Jennifer. I would not swap the sugar for honey, the crust and topping will be too moist. You can try using some type of sugar substitute that is made for baking. I believe Splenda makes one. You want something that is going to be fairly similar in consistency to granulated sugar. Enjoy!
Jennifer Ashfield
Thank you very much! I will try Splenda.
Trixie
Went berry picking a few days ago and was wondering what to do with all the berries we got!!! Thankful I stumbled upon this berry crumble recipe— it’s sooooooo good!!! Please don’t skip the lemon juice and zest, they do wonders to the bars. We love eating them frozen since it’s not messy. I have saved this recipe for future use! ❤️
Allison
Perfect! I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Julie
So easy and delicious! Thanks
Allison
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Sarah
Great recipe. Was wondering if i could substitute gluten free flour?
Allison
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure. That being said, I have had luck substituting a 1:1 gluten free flour blend in other recipes, so my guess is that it would be ok. Enjoy!
Janice Sage
Giving this a go! Let you know how it comes out.