BLUEBERRY PIE BARS

Blueberry Pie Bars image

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.

Provided by Samantha Seneviratne

Time 1h10m

Yield 16 servings

Number Of Ingredients 18

Ingredients

10 2/3 ounces/300 grams shortbread cookies (2 5.3-ounce packages)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons/60 grams unsalted butter (1/2 stick), melted
8 ounces/225 grams cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup/50 grams plus 1/3 cup/65 grams granulated sugar
1 large egg
3 cups/12 ounces/340 grams wild blueberries, fresh or frozen, but not thawed
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Pinch of kosher salt
5 1/3 ounces/150 grams shortbread cookies (1 5.3-ounce package)
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk

Steps:

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.
Meanwhile, prepare filling: In a medium bowl, add cream cheese, 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 egg and mix until smooth. In a separate medium bowl, add blueberries, remaining 1/3 cup sugar, cornstarch and salt, and toss to combine.
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.
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.
To serve, use a sharp knife to release edges. Using parchment overhang, lift and transfer to a cutting board and cut into 16 squares.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 297, UnsaturatedFat 7 grams, Carbohydrate 33 grams, Fat 17 grams, Fiber 1 gram, Protein 3 grams, SaturatedFat 8 grams, Sodium 198 milligrams, Sugar 17 grams, TransFat 0 grams