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!
Sharon
I made the recipe as written, and it turned out lovely.
Celebrating Sweets
I’m so glad! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Mia Annesen-Wood
Do you think these bars would work with frozen berries? looking for a recipe to use them up.
Celebrating Sweets
That should work. I would recommend keeping them frozen and adding a little more cornstarch (maybe an extra teaspoon or so)? Enjoy!
Kitty
I made it with frozen berries and doubled the corn starch. They were a hit! Cant even tell it was made with frozen berries
Candy
Did you keep the berries frozen or thaw them first?
Elizabeth
Does this need to be refrigerated after?
Celebrating Sweets
It will keep for a couple days longer if you store it in the fridge. Enjoy!
Danielle Dionne
I made these as per the directions, except I only had frozen berries and, I forgot to add the 1/2 cup of sugar to the berries, which I’m glad happened. They we’re delicious and still sweet enough for me.
Could you please tell me how long I can freeze the leftovers for?
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed them! They should freeze well for up to 3 months. Thanks for stopping by! -Allison
Amanda
Made these today and added a handful of oats to the topping. Delicious.
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Tanja
Can I use light brown sugar instead of white?
Allison
That should be fine. Enjoy! 🙂
Carol Croucher
I don’t have lemon. Will that be okay?
Allison
That will be fine. Enjoy!
emma
it’s always a bit confusing living in australia and wondering if cornstarch is equivalent to our cornflower… is the cornstarch you’re talking about in this recipe yellow or white? thanks in advance!
Allison
It is white. For this specific recipe you can use all purpose flour instead of cornstarch. I would recommend about 2-3 tablespoons of flour in place of the cornstarch. Enjoy!
Jenna
Is there a video?
Allison
Hi, Jenna. Unfortunately I don’t have a video for this recipe yet. Thanks for stopping by!
Kylie
Hi! I want to make these but I only have margarine 🙁 would it work to measure, cut and freeze it till solid? Or will using cold margarine work
Allison
I’ve only made the recipe with butter so I can’t say for sure. If you try it I would recommend using chilled butter from the fridge. Enjoy!
Margi
Thanks Miss Allison,
Reminds me of my Grandmas cooking in all the right ways. Thanks for posting it and I too would recommend the lemon zest when you get a bit it’s like a flavor magnifyer so for me the more the better ? but then that’s just a weird lemon bar so, yeah zest is good ?
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂