These Mixed Berry Crumble Bars are a ridiculously delicious dessert! Easy to make with any berries with a great tart and sweet balance.
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My sisters live outside of Portland, Oregon and when I went to visit recently, we got to go berry picking in the Pacific Northwest at Sauvie Island. I love traveling and especially love any activities related to food or cooking such as visiting wineries in Napa Valley or a Spanish cooking class in Barcelona, Spain.
One extra special thing about berries in the Northwest is marionberries! They are a variety of blackberries and SO delicious! I am just obsessed. So whenever I visit, I stock up on some marionberry goods. This time, it was picking marionberries to make homemade marionberry jam.
We went absolutely crazy picking berries, it was amazing. And it is quite a workout! So as a result of that berry picking trip, not only did I make a LOT of jam, but my sister wanted to make some berry crumble bars. And they were SO good! We made them twice in three days.
You can use any mixture of berries that you like or have for these Mixed Berry Crumble Bars. Frozen works beautifully, just thaw and drain before using. And you can adjust the ratios however you prefer as long as it adds up to the same amount in weight. The size in cups varies with the berry size, so weight is better. I recommend having a kitchen scale (you will use it more than you think!) if you do not already.
I love tartness so I typically use more raspberries than anything, so make it your own! My typical combination is blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries (or in this case, marionberries) but strawberries or cherries would also be great.
These Mixed Berry Crumble Bars are also best warm! Make in advance and just heat either the whole thing in the dish or by piece in a microwave or oven before serving. But if you do heat it, the berry layer becomes a little loose as you see in the pictures. But it is worth it. Add whipped cream or ice cream if you wish, but I like to eat it on its own.
Mixed Berry Crumble Bars
Ingredients
Berry Mixture
- 12 ounces blueberries (2 cups or 1 pint)
- 6 ounces raspberries (1 cup)
- 6 ounces blackberries (1 cup)
- 1 Tablespoon flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 lemon juiced
Crust
- 3 cups flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Spray a 9x13 pan with non stick spray. Line the bottom and up the side with parchment paper if desired to help pull the bars out later. (Just paper up two sides is fine to lift them out).
- Mix all of the berries in a medium bowl with 1/2 cup sugar, juice from 1/2 lemon (approximately 1 Tablespoon), and 1 Tablespoon flour. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine 3 cups of flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir to combine.
- Whisk the egg and vanilla together in a small bowl and add to the flour mixture. Stir to combine.
- Cut the cold butter into Tablespoon pieces (or smaller) and add to the flour mixture. Use a pastry cutter or fork to work the butter into the four. Use your hands if desired. Continue until the butter is in very small pieces and the flour resembles coarse sand.
- Pour between 1/2 to 2/3 of the flour mixture into the baking dish. Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan to form an even layer.
- Add the berries into the dish and spread out across the crust.
- Take the remaining dough mixture and squeeze in your hand to create clumps, then crumble the clumps (to make small clumps) across the top of the berry mixture until most is covered.
- Bake the crumble bars for approximately 35-40 minutes until the top is browned and the edges of the berry mixture are bubbling.
- Let cool completely or until just slightly warm. Re-warm if desired in pieces or as a whole. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream if desired.
