Berry Oatmeal Crumble Bars

After making the blackberry crumble bars, I decided to tackle the remaining pile of freshly picked blackberries with my personal favorite berry recipe, berry crumble bars.  I’ve tried these with all sorts of berries – blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and combinations of all of the above – and they have all turned out delicious.  The crunchy oatmeal topping, the sweet jam-like filling… these are the perfect summery treat!  (And I think my lab agreed.)  Of course, between the blackberry pie bars and these blackberry crumble bars, I still had roughly 2/3 of my initial blackberry pile remaining in my refrigerator…

Berry Oatmeal Crumble Bars

Ingredients:

• 3 cups fresh berries of choices
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup butter, softened and cut into large chunks
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. To prepare filling, stir together berries and lemon juice in a medium saucepan.  Cook over medium heat until fruit is tender, about 15 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together sugar and cornstarch.  Stir into fruit mixture.  Continue cooking until mixture comes to a boil.  Boil for 1-2 minutes until thick.  Remove from heat.
3. Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease a 9”x13” baking pan.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, butter, baking soda, salt, and vanilla extract.  Cut ingredients together with pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Set aside 1 1/2 cups of mixture in a medium bowl.
5. Pour remaining crumb mixture into the bottom of the dish, spread evenly, and pat down.  Place filling in dollops over crust and carefully spread to cover entire surface.
6. Squeeze reserved crumb mixture into large clumps with fingers and sprinkle evenly over the top of the fruit filling.
7. Bake until golden brown, about 30 to 35 minutes.  Cool completely before slicing.