Blackberry Crumble Bars

These Blackberry Crumble Bars are buttery and tender with a thick layer of juicy blackberry filling running through the middle.  They’re easy to make and perfect for a sweet breakfast or afternoon treat.

Try swapping out blackberries for your other favorite berries, or mix up some of the flavors with our suggestions below.  And if you love blackberry recipes, try our blackberry pie, razzleberry pie, blackberry crisp and berry cobbler recipes.

Easy Blackberry Crumble Bars

When buttery crumbles and sweet summer berries meet it’s like a little slice of heaven, and these blackberry bars are certainly no exception.  They are rich and buttery, juicy and sweet, and taste amazing with a big cup of coffee or even a scoop of ice cream.  

Around my house, we’ve eaten these for breakfast, as afternoon snacks, at picnics, and even in the car between soccer games.  With no dough to roll out or blind baking to do, they really are about as easy as it gets.

Key Ingredients

• Butter – use cold, unsalted butter for this recipe.
• Sugar – this recipe calls for regular white granulated sugar.  You could also substitute 1/3 of the sugar with brown sugar if you want.
• Baking Powder – this helps the crumble to stay nice and soft.
• Cinnamon – any kind of ground cinnamon will work.
• Lemon – lemon enhances the flavor of most fruits, including all berries. Fresh lemons taste best.  Be sure to zest before you juice the lemons!
• Blackberries – you can use fresh blackberries or frozen blackberries for this recipe.  Or, substitute raspberries, blueberries, strawberries or even a combination of them.
• Cornstarch – this helps to thicken the fruit mixture.

How to Make Blackberry Crumb Bars

1. Prepare your baking pan.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, then grease a 9″x13″ baking dish or line with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Prepare the crumble mixture.  In a food processor, pulse the butter and flour until the mixture resembles coarse meal.  Add the sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and zest of one lemon, then pulse again to combine.  Finally, add the egg and vanilla extract and pulse just until evenly combined.
3. Press 2/3 of the crumble mixture into the pan.  Add 2/3 of the crumble mixture to the prepared baking pan and press it down evenly using the flat side of a measuring cup or your hands.  Set aside the remaining 1/3 of the crumble.
4. Make the blackberry filling.  In a medium saucepan, combine the blackberries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat and boil for 2 minutes, mixing frequently.
5. Finish building bars.  Once it has thickened, pour the blackberries over the prepared crust and top with remaining crumble topping.
6. Bake.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25-35 minutes, or until the crumble topping is golden brown.
7. Cool, cut and serve.  Remove from the oven and let cool completely before cutting squares or bars.  Enjoy!

Recipe Variations

Using this recipe as a base, you can make all sorts of yummy berry crumb bars!  Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Different berries.  Try substituting raspberries, boysenberries, strawberries, blueberries or any mixture of these.  They all taste great!
• Add nuts.  Try adding 1/3 cup of chopped pecans, almonds or walnuts to the crumble for a bit of crunch.  For a bit of nut-free crunch, try adding oats.
• Other crumble flavors.  To flavor the crumble, you can also brown the butter and let it cool again completely, then make as directed.  Or, try substituting a portion of the sugar with brown sugar.  You can also mix in other flavors like extra lemon or lime zest, clove or ginger. 

Tips and Tricks

• If you use frozen blackberries, you may need to cook the mixture slightly longer to be sure it doesn’t end up too liquidy.
• Even though it’s virtually impossible, we suggest waiting until these are completely cool before cutting.  Obviously, you can still sneak a little bite beforehand!
• We like to enjoy these at room temperature, but they taste really great even out of the fridge, or warmed up slightly in the microwave.

Storing and Freezing

• Room Temperature: store at room temperature for up to 4 days in an airtight container with pieces of parchment paper between the layers.
• Refrigerator: store in the fridge for up to 1 week.
• Freeze:  you can also freeze these crumble bars in any airtight container with parchment paper between the layers for up to 2 months.  To thaw, pull from the freezer and let sit at room temperature for a few hours or even overnight.

More Dessert Bar Recipes

• Pumpkin Pie Bars
• Lemon Blondies
• White Chocolate and Raspberry Bars
• Chocolate Swirl Cookie Bars
• Lemon Bars
• Strawberry Blondie Bars
• German Chocolate Brownies
• More Dessert Bar Recipes
• More Easy Desserts

These Blackberry Crumble Bars are rich and buttery, juicy and sweet and super simple to make. Enjoy as a sweet breakfast or afternoon treat.