We live in blackberry country and have a blackberry festival every year. You can find recipes for all things blackberry abound this time of year. A neighbor shared these bars and recipe with me and I instantly fell in love.
FRUIT (BLACKBERRY) PIE BARS
CRUST & TOPPING
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup EXTRA FINE sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened to room temperature
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Grease a 9×13 baking pan.
- Whisk together the flour, sugar and salt.
- Cut butter in with a pastry blender until the butter is evenly distributed and mixture is crumbly.
- Reserve 1 1/2 cups for topping.
- Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the pan and bake 12 minutes.
- Cool 10-15 minutes.
FILLING
4 LARGE eggs
2 cups EXTRA FINE sugar
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup flour
pinch salt
Zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon PURE almond extract
32 ounces FRESH or frozen blackberries, thawed and drained well
- Whisk eggs in a large bowl until smooth.
- Add sugar, sour cream, flour, salt, lemon zest and almond extract, mixing until well blended.
- Gently fold in berries and spoon the mixture evenly over the crust.
- Crumble remaining crust mixture evenly over the berry layer.
- Bake 45-55 minutes or until cooked through.
- Cool COMPLETELY before cutting.
NOTES:
- These are VERY thick bars and baking time may vary depending on the fruit you use.
- These bars work wonderfully with all flavors of fruit. Cherry and peach are excellent! Cranberry is wonderful at this time of year also. I like to mix a few blueberries and strawberries into the cranberries for a little extra sweetness.
- I HIGHLY recommend non-seeded fruits.
- If you like THICK crusts, double your crust and topping ingredients – just sayin’ 😀