Blueberry Pie Bars

By Samantha Seneviratne

Updated August 14, 2018

  • Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Liza Jernow.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
About 1 hour 10 minutes, plus chilling
Rating
4(2,280)
Comments
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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.

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Ingredients

Yield:16 servings

FOR THE CRUST

  • 10 ⅔ ounces/300 grams shortbread cookies (2 5.3-ounce packages)

  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt

  • 4 tablespoons/60 grams unsalted butter (½ stick), melted

FOR THE FILLING

  • 8 ounces/225 grams cream cheese, at room temperature

  • ¼ cup/50 grams plus ⅓ 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

FOR THE TOPPING

  • 5 ⅓ ounces/150 grams shortbread cookies (1 5.3-ounce package)

  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

  • ½ teaspoon baking powder

  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

  • 1 large egg yolk

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (16 servings)

33 grams carbs; 49 milligrams cholesterol; 298 calories; 5 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 17 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 198 milligrams sodium; 3 grams protein; 17 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    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.

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, prepare filling: In a medium bowl, add cream cheese, ¼ cup of sugar and 1 egg and mix until smooth. In a separate medium bowl, add blueberries, remaining ⅓ cup sugar, cornstarch and salt, and toss to combine.

  3. Step 3

    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.

  4. Step 4

    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.

  5. Step 5

    To serve, use a sharp knife to release edges. Using parchment overhang, lift and transfer to a cutting board and cut into 16 squares.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
2,280 user ratings
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Comments

CElleD

Made w/slight-modifications reflecting upon prior comments from others. This recipe is absolutely delicious. I used the Vanilla Wafers sold at Trader Joe’s. They are a fraction of the price but just as delicious. (Don’t sneer. They taste nothing like Nilla Wafers. Try. You will be hooked.) I used the topping recipe - combined quantities - for the crust AND topping. Easier. Tastes the same. Also added grated lemon zest to the cream cheese filling. Made in a 13x9 for slimmer servings. Watch oven!!

Thom

Superb! One major change: Instead of packaged shortbread cookies, I used Melissa Clark's "Shortbread, 10 Ways" recipe. Super easy and well worth the additional time. I did the citrus version. I pressed about 2/3 of the dough into a pan lined with parchment for the crust. For the topping, I used the other 1/3 of the dough, and added the egg yolk. Lastly, added a cup of rasberries that needed to be used up. Remarkably, this is better than blueberry pie.

NYkr

I made these tonight because I had just bought wild blueberries. My husband LOVED them. He's not a big dessert guy but he ate three bars. I thought they were good but I would have liked a higher concentration of blueberries in the filling. They seemed more like blueberry cheesecake than blueberry pie bars. Still, very tasty. I used Pepperidge Farm Shortbread cookies.

LeAnne

These are great! And you can support your local Girl Scouts by using Trefoils for the shortbread cookies.

Piedmont Fan

Made it as directed. Agree with the others that the blueberry layer is not predominant enough. It needs to be more tart or more substantial to better balance the amount of crust and crumble. Very tasty nonetheless.

Sharon

Delicious- used 9x13 pan- added some blueberries,next time I would increase the cream cheese by half to reach the edges of pan

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