American
Berry Crumble Bars
Fresh berries sit between an oat crumble made with butter, flour, and sugar. The bars need to cool in the pan so the fruit layer sets before you cut them.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Total
- 1 hr
- Servings
- 12
- Difficulty
- Easy
Why you’ll love it
- The same oat mixture is both the base and the topping, so you only mix once.
- Cornstarch in the berries thickens their juices so the bars can be cut.
- A fully cooled pan is what sets the fruit. Hot bars slump when sliced.
- Fresh berries keep the filling brighter than a long-cooked jam.
Ingredients
Ingredient amounts scale. Oven temperature and cook time do not. Salt, spices, and leaveners are a starting point after you scale. Taste and adjust.
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Instructions
- 1
Heat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment, leaving some overhang.
- 2
Stir the melted butter, brown sugar, and 1/4 cup white sugar. Add the flour, oats, and salt. Stir until clumps form.
- 3
Press about two-thirds of the oat mixture into the pan in an even layer.
- 4
Toss the berries with the remaining 1/4 cup white sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Spread them over the crust.
- 5
Crumble the rest of the oat mixture over the berries.
- 6
Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until the topping is golden and the fruit is bubbling at the edges.
- 7
Cool completely in the pan, at least 2 hours, before cutting into 12 bars. Warm bars will not hold a clean slice.
Pro tips
- Frozen berries work if you do not thaw them first. Thawed berries dump extra water into the filling.
- Use the parchment overhang to lift the slab out before you cut.
- If the topping browns early, tent the pan with foil for the last 10 minutes.
Easy substitutions
- 3 cups mixed berries
- 1 cup berry jam, spread over the crust, and skip the cornstarch
- mixed berries
- all blueberries or all raspberries
- unsalted butter
- salted butter, and use 1/4 tsp salt
Storage and reheating
Storage
Keep covered at room temperature for 1 day, or refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Reheating
They are meant to be eaten cool or at room temperature. A 10-second microwave softens a refrigerated bar if you want it warmer.
Nutrition
Estimates per serving, using standard ingredient averages and rounded to the nearest gram. This is not a lab analysis, and it shifts if you change brands or add sides.
- Calories
- 290
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 38 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fiber
- 3 g
Moderate · Oven
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A half-sheet pan
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