Blueberry Deliciousness

A few weeks ago, when the blueberries came in, I had a million things on my plate at one time- including preparing for a week-long family camping trip.  Sadly, this year, even though I ordered more blueberries, I just didn’t get a chance to play around with them.  Lucky for me though, they all were safely frozen and secured in the freezer, and now they can come out to play in full and inspire delicious blueberry fantasies.

And play they do! Very nicely in fact, in these incredibly easy and delicious Blueberry Picnic Bars.  Originally, I found the recipe on Recipezaar, but then tweaked it to my own tastes.   They turned out better than I expected, and I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to make these for a special occasion.  Think blueberry pie meets blueberry crisp and you have an idea of what this bar tastes like.  I loved that there was very little sugar in the filling, so the flavor of the blueberry really comes through, without being bogged down by cloying sweetness.  Even the sugar in the crust seems reigned in to me, and yet it works spectacularly well.  I did find that they cut better when chilled, but I preferred eating them at room temperature, where the full explosion of blueberry flavor seemed just a touch better.

As I sit here nibbling on one of the bars, it seems to me that adding a smackerel of chopped pecans to the top layer of crumb would be inspiring, and I fully intend on doing that next time, uh, which may be as early as tomorrow.

Blueberry Picnic Bars

1 1/2 cups Old-fashioned rolled oats.

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

6 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

2 cups blueberries, rinsed and picked over

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Line an 8-inch square pan with foil, making sure the foil hangs over the edges for easy removal of the bars later on.  Spray the foil lightly with cooking spray.

In a bowl, mix the oats, flour, brown sugar and baking powder together.  Add the melted butter and mix well until thoroughly combined.  Press half of the crumb mixture into the bottom of the lined pan.  Bake for 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and lemon juice in a saucepan over medium heat.  Stir occasionally and bring to a gentle simmer.  Simmer for about 2 minutes, or until the liquid does not seem so cloudy, and has thickened nicely.

Spoon the blueberry mixture over the bottom crust, spreading very gently to the edges.

Top the blueberry mixture with the remaining half of the crumb mixture- spreading it evenly.

Bake in a 350ºF oven for 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before removing from the pan.

For best results, chill before cutting.