These blackberry crumb pie bars have layers of brown butter crumble, filled with fresh sweet blackberries. Brown butter in the crumble crust and topping adds a rich nutty flavor, complemented by a little cardamom in the blackberries and brightened by a bit of lemon zest. If you love blackberry pie, then you’ll love this easy recipe for blackberry crumb bars.
Looking for more recipes like this? Don’t miss these brown butter peach crumb bars, Meyer lemon crumb bars, and rhubarb oatmeal bars.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easier than Pie. When you love blackberry pie, but don’t want to make pie dough and wait hours for the pie to cool, these blackberry crumb bars are a much easier and quicker dessert to make.
Brown Butter. Browning the butter first, before making the mixture for the crust and crumble topping gives these blackberry bars the most incredible rich, nutty, buttery flavor. You’ll just love it.
Versatile. Use fresh or frozen blackberries for the filling, depending on the season. If you like the crunch of oats, or even some chopped pecans or almonds, both would be great in the crumble.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
Crust and Topping
- Butter. You’ll be browning the butter first, for the most wonderful flavor.
- Flour. All-purpose flour adds structure to the crust and topping.
- Dark Brown Sugar. Sweetness.
- Salt. Coarse Kosher salt balances the sweetness and enhances the flavors.
- Baking Powder. Gives the crust a little lift.
- Cardamom. Complements the flavor of the brown butter and blackberries.
Filling
- Blackberries. Use fresh or frozen berries, whichever are in season. If you use frozen blackberries, let them thaw first.
- Lemon Zest & Lemon Juice. Adds brightness to complement the blackberries.
- Sugar. Adds sweetness and moisture to the filling.
- Flour. Just a little flour thickens the juices in the filling.
Instructions
Crust and Topping
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and line an 8 inch baking pan with parchment paper, or spray with nonstick spray. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven.
- Place the butter in a saucepan, and melt over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter, swirling the pan occasionally, until very fragrant and nutty brown solids form on the bottom of the pan. This should take about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine 2 1/4 cups of the flour with the brown sugar, salt, baking powder and cardamom. Pour the hot, browned butter over the flour mixture and stir into a soft dough.
- Press 2/3 of the dough into an even layer in the prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes.
- For the topping, add the remaining 1/4 cup flour to the remaining 1/3 of the dough, and use your fingers or a fork to make a crumbly topping. Set aside.
Filling
- In a bowl, toss the blackberries with the lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar and flour. If your blackberries are more firm, you’ll only need 1 tablespoon of flour to thicken the juices. For softer, juicier blackberries (or if using frozen and thawed berries), use 2 tablespoons flour.
- After the crust bakes for 20 minutes, take the pan out of the oven. Spread the blackberry filling over the hot crust, then sprinkle the filling with the crumble topping.
- Return the pan to the oven, and bake for an additional 35-40 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and the filling is set.
- Let the bars cool at room temperature for at least 2-3 hours before cutting into squares. Or, enjoy them warm, although they’ll be a bit messier.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Will this recipe work with raspberries instead of blackberries?
Yes, you should be able to swap the blackberries for raspberries without any other changes.
How long do these bars stay fresh?
You can store these bars at room temperature for 2 days in an airtight container, and the crust will stay crisp and buttery without getting soggy.
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Blackberry Crumb Pie Bars
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- 8 inch baking pan
Ingredients
Crust and Topping
- ¾ cup unsalted butter
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, divided
- 6 tbsp dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ⅛ tsp ground cardamom
Filling
- 1 lb blackberries
- 1 tsp fresh lemon zest
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1-2 tbsp all-purpose flour (see note)
Instructions
Crust and Topping
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and line an 8 inch baking pan with parchment paper, or spray with nonstick spray. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven.
- Place the butter in a saucepan, and melt over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter, swirling the pan occasionally, until very fragrant and nutty brown solids form on the bottom of the pan. This should take about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine 2 1/4 cups of the flour with the brown sugar, salt, baking powder and cardamom. Pour the hot, browned butter over the flour mixture and stir into a soft dough.
- Press 2/3 of the dough into an even layer in the prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes.
- For the topping, add the remaining 1/4 cup flour to the remaining 1/3 of the dough, and use your fingers or a fork to make a crumbly topping. Set aside.
Filling
- In a bowl, toss the blackberries with the lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar and flour. If your blackberries are more firm, you'll only need 1 tablespoon of flour to thicken the juices. For softer, juicier blackberries (or if using frozen and thawed berries), use 2 tablespoons flour.
- After the crust bakes for 20 minutes, take the pan out of the oven. Spread the blackberry filling over the hot crust, then sprinkle the filling with the crumble topping. Return the pan to the oven, and bake for an additional 35-40 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and the filling is set.
- Let the bars cool at room temperature for at least 2-3 hours before cutting into squares. Or, enjoy them warm, although they'll be a bit messier.
It was so hard to wait for these to cool! Crust is so nice and sandy and the filling may be my new favorite use of blackberries. Definitely better than eating them out of the container – they need that bit of sugar.
Can you freeze these?
I haven’t tried, but I’d generally advise against freezing these types of bars, since the crumb topping might get soggy when they’re thawed out.