Blueberry Crumb Bars

Yesterday, our son called to propose that he and his lovely wife make a quick, before school starts trip here. What a wonderful, serendipitous summer gift! We shared a tasty supper, assembled from the bounty of the season--corn on the cob, chicken on the grill, green beans, tomato/onion/green pepper and vinaigrette salad, and a new cookie recipe for dessert. Try these! Here is the recipe (I used my frozen July blueberries):

Blueberry Crumb Bars
(Adapted from AllRecipes.com)

1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cold unsalted butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces)
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest and juice of one lemon
4 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch pan.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and lemon zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.

3. In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown.) Cool completely before cutting into squares.blueberry crumb bar

Yield: I cut these into 36 smallish rectangles

These are easiest to cut once chilled, and store even better in the fridge than they do at room temperature–something unusual for cookies!