Blueberry Pie Bars

By Samantha Seneviratne

Blueberry Pie Bars
Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Liza Jernow.
Total Time
About 1 hour 10 minutes, plus chilling
Rating
4(2,199)
Comments
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At first glance, these bars may look like every other fruit crumble bar you’ve had, but they have a secret. Between the jammy fruit and buttery shortbread is a bonus layer of sweetened cream cheese you never knew you needed until now. Wild blueberries are less watery than conventional blueberries and have a more concentrated blueberry flavor that works beautifully in this recipe. They are available frozen and need not be thawed before using, but you can use whichever variety you find. These bars will be delicious no matter what.

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Ingredients

Yield:16 servings

    For the Crust

    • 10 ⅔ounces/300 grams shortbread cookies (2 5.3-ounce packages)
    • 3tablespoons granulated sugar
    • 1tablespoon all-purpose flour
    • ½teaspoon kosher salt
    • 4tablespoons/60 grams unsalted butter (½ stick), melted

    For the Filling

    • 8ounces/225 grams cream cheese, at room temperature
    • ¼cup/50 grams plus ⅓ cup/65 grams granulated sugar
    • 1large egg
    • 3cups/12 ounces/340 grams wild blueberries, fresh or frozen, but not thawed
    • 1tablespoon cornstarch
    • Pinch of kosher salt

    For the Topping

    • 5⅓ounces/150 grams shortbread cookies (1 5.3-ounce package)
    • 1tablespoon all-purpose flour
    • ¼teaspoon kosher salt
    • ½teaspoon baking powder
    • 1tablespoon granulated sugar
    • 2tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
    • 1large egg yolk
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (16 servings)

298 calories; 17 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 33 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 17 grams sugars; 3 grams protein; 198 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch square pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. In a food processor, combine shortbread cookies, sugar, flour and salt and pulse until you have fine crumbs. Add butter and pulse until crumbs are evenly moistened. Transfer mixture into the prepared pan and press down into an even layer. Bake until fragrant and a shade darker, 15 to 20 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, prepare filling: In a medium bowl, add cream cheese, ¼ cup of sugar and 1 egg and mix until smooth. In a separate medium bowl, add blueberries, remaining ⅓ cup sugar, cornstarch and salt, and toss to combine.

  3. Step 3

    Prepare topping: In a food processor, combine shortbread, flour, salt, baking powder and sugar and pulse to combine. Add butter and egg yolk, and pulse until the mixture is evenly moistened.

  4. Step 4

    Remove crust from oven and top it evenly with cream cheese mixture and then blueberry mixture. Sprinkle topping over blueberry layer, squeezing to make some larger clumps. Bake until filling is set and no longer jiggly, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely then chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

  5. Step 5

    To serve, use a sharp knife to release edges. Using parchment overhang, lift and transfer to a cutting board and cut into 16 squares.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
2,199 user ratings
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Comments

CElleD

Made w/slight-modifications reflecting upon prior comments from others. This recipe is absolutely delicious. I used the Vanilla Wafers sold at Trader Joe’s. They are a fraction of the price but just as delicious. (Don’t sneer. They taste nothing like Nilla Wafers. Try. You will be hooked.) I used the topping recipe - combined quantities - for the crust AND topping. Easier. Tastes the same. Also added grated lemon zest to the cream cheese filling. Made in a 13x9 for slimmer servings. Watch oven!!

Thom

Superb! One major change: Instead of packaged shortbread cookies, I used Melissa Clark's "Shortbread, 10 Ways" recipe. Super easy and well worth the additional time. I did the citrus version. I pressed about 2/3 of the dough into a pan lined with parchment for the crust. For the topping, I used the other 1/3 of the dough, and added the egg yolk. Lastly, added a cup of rasberries that needed to be used up. Remarkably, this is better than blueberry pie.

NYkr

I made these tonight because I had just bought wild blueberries. My husband LOVED them. He's not a big dessert guy but he ate three bars. I thought they were good but I would have liked a higher concentration of blueberries in the filling. They seemed more like blueberry cheesecake than blueberry pie bars. Still, very tasty. I used Pepperidge Farm Shortbread cookies.

david burbidgd

I used frozen regular blueberries but microwaved them for 60 seconds to soften them so the sugar would mix in. I used about 75% of the sugar. In a 9x9, I baked them for 50 minutes to make sure it gelled. It did and they are great! All the comments helped.

Jonah Houston

I agree with abandoning the shortbread. It lacks flavor and is too rich. I stopped myself from adding lemon zest to the cream cheese, but that was a mistake. It needs more acid and less shortbread.

KR

Based off of many comments I made the following changes: I reduced the sugar by 1/5. I added the cardamom to the flour and increased the cardamom to 3 tsp. I baked the crust for 15 min and for the 2nd bake I followed the instructions. It came out perfect. A little too sweet for me but everyone else loved them. Next time I’ll reduce the sugar to half or buy a less sweet jam, to fit my preferences.

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