Blueberry Crumb Cars

One of the biggest hits of the Literary Reading and Vegan Bake Sale (besides the wonderful readers, and the supportive audience, and the Maggie the Puppy, who found a permanent home) was the wide array of delicious baked goods. Due to a few requests, we are sharing the recipe for the Blueberry Crumb Bars that disappeared early in the night. The recipe can be found on the Smitten Kitchen blog, or you can read below. The original recipe calls for one egg, but if you want to make it vegan you can substitute applesauce (this was prepared the vegan way for the bake sale.) Enjoy!

Blueberry Crumb Bars

1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cold unsalted butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces)
1 egg (or 3 Tbsp of applesauce)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest and juice of one lemon
4 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch pan.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and lemon zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg (or applesauce). Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.

3. In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. (This took an extra 10 to 15 minutes in my oven.) Cool completely before cutting into squares.