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These blackberry pie bars taste just like blackberry pie! With plenty of rich and buttery crumbs and a jammy blackberry filling, you’ll love these easy blackberry crumb bars! The crust and crumbs are made from one simple dough that comes together in 5 minutes, no mixer or special equipment required (thank you, melted butter!). Recipe makes 12 bars.
With plenty of butter, lemon zest, and vine ripened blackberries, these blackberry bars are the very essence of blackberry pie, albeit in an all too effortless crumb bar.
You can also make these dessert bars anytime of year with frozen blackberries (no need to thaw first). And if you need crumb bars for a large group, simply double the recipe and bake in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
More delicious dessert bars: classic cherry pie bars and sweet strawberry crumb bars!
Essential Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make blackberry crumble bars:
- Flour – Use all-purpose flour in this recipe. If you’d like to make these bars gluten-free, I recommend using a gluten free 1-1 baking flour for best results.
- Baking soda – Gives the crumb bars a lift.
- Salt – Brings out the flavors.
- Cinnamon – A touch of cinnamon in the crust and crumbs adds nice cozy flavor. If you’re not a fan, feel free to omit it.
- Butter – Use melted unsalted butter to make the dough.
- Sugar – The dough incorporates light brown sugar and granulated sugar. You’ll also use granulated sugar in the blackberry filling.
- Vanilla – Pure vanilla extract flavors the crumb bars.
- Lemon zest – Fresh lemon zest flavors the dough and filling.
- Blackberries – I recommend fresh blackberries for the filling. Out of season, you can use frozen blackberries straight from the freezer (do not thaw).
- Cornstarch – Thickens the blackberry filling. You can also use arrowroot starch.
- Lemon juice – Fresh lemon juice brightens the blackberry filling.
Make Crust and Crumbs
Combine all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Whisk dry ingredients together until combined.
Combine melted butter, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, vanilla extract, and fresh lemon zest in a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
Once the melted butter mixture is completely incorporated, add flour mixture to the bowl.
Fold in dry ingredients with a spatula until incorporated. Set aside 3/4 cup of dough for the crumb topping – keep chilled in the refrigerator.
Add remaining dough to a parchment-lined square baking pan.
Press dough evenly across the bottom of prepared pan. Pro tip: Use a piece of wax paper to help press the dough into an even layer.
Bake crust for 14 to 16 minutes, until lightly golden and set. Transfer crust to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes.
Make Blackberry Filling
Combine blackberries, sugar, salt, cornstarch, fresh lemon zest, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan.
Bring to a boil, pressing firmly on berries to release juices, about 3 to 4 minutes. The sauce will start to foam at the surface.
Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes, until filling is thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Remove pan from the heat and cool filling for 10 minutes.
Assemble and Bake Bars
Spoon blackberry filling over cooled crust and sprinkle remaining crumble mixture over filling. Return pan to the oven.
Bake bars for another 40 minutes or until crumble topping is golden and filling slightly bubbly. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
Just before cutting, chill in the freezer for 15 minutes. Lift parchment and transfer bars to a cutting board and cut into rectangles (or squares) with a sharp knife.
Serve bars with a dusting of powdered sugar or vanilla ice cream for the ultimate blackberry pie bar experience!
More blackberry recipes you’ll love:
- Blackberry Lemon Loaf Cake
- Blackberry Orange Vanilla Pound Cake
- Baked Blackberry Mascarpone French Toast
- Blackberry White Chocolate Scones
Did you try these Blackberry Pie Bars? Let me know by leaving a comment and rating below!
PrintBlackberry Pie Bars
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 12 bars
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
These blackberry pie bars taste just like blackberry pie! With plenty of buttery crumbs and blackberries, you’ll love these easy blackberry crumb bars! Recipe makes 12 bars.
Ingredients
Crust & Crumbs
- 2 cups (280 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 cup (168 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (50 g) light brown sugar
- 1 tsp (4 g) vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon zest
Blackberry Filling
- 2 1/2 cups (425 g) blackberries
- 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 3 Tbsp (24 g) cornstarch
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1/2 Tbsp (7 g) lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.
- Make crust and crumble: Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Whisk together melted butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest in a large bowl until combined. Add dry ingredients and fold in until incorporated.
- Set aside 3/4 cup (220 g) of dough for topping. Chill until ready to use. Press remaining dough evenly into bottom of prepared baking pan.
- Bake crust for 14 to 16 minutes, until lightly golden and set. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes.
- Make filling: Combine blackberries, sugar, salt, cornstarch, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, pressing firmly on berries to release juices, about 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes, until filling is thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Remove pan from the heat and cool filling for 10 minutes.
- Spoon blackberry filling over cooled crust and crumble reserved dough over filling.
- Bake bars for another 40 minutes or until topping is golden and filling slightly bubbly. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
- Just before cutting, chill in the freezer for 15 minutes. Carefully lift parchment and place bars on a cutting board; cut into squares with a sharp knife.
- Store crumb bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
Notes
Blackberries: You can use fresh or frozen blackberries in these bars. If using frozen blackberries, add directly to the saucepan from the freezer and cook as directed (do not thaw).
Gluten Free Bars: Use your favorite 1-1 gluten-free flour.
Larger Batch: For a larger batch of crumb bars, double the recipe and bake in a 9 x 13-inch rectangular baking pan.
Freeze Crumb Bars: To freeze crumb bars, let cool completely. Once cooled, place bars on a baking sheet and freeze flat for 1 hour. Transfer bars to an airtight container and freeze up to 8 weeks. Thaw bars overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
I’ve made these many times, they are addicting! Thanks so much!
Thanks so much for this feedback. 🙂
I have baked this twice-once with blackberry jam and again with Raspberry jam. My coworkers absolutely love these bars! 😄
Great to hear, thank you Erin! 🙂
The flavor is AMAZING! However, I doubled the recipe, and my bars did not “set.” The filling was too ooey-gooey. I substituted the lemon zest with the recommended amount of lemon juice, and I think that was the problem! Going to try to make these delicious bars again.
Has anyone tried to make these with a can of pre-made blackberry filling? I wonder how much to use?
Hi Lindsay, did you pre-cook the filling on the stovetop? It should have set up from the cornstarch. If you use pre-made blackberry filling, you’d need approximately 1 1/4 cups for an 8-inch pan.
These are fantastic! Rich and full of blackberry pie flavor. Family loved them! Even my dad who hates blackberries because of the seeds, inhaled 3 bars.
Thank you so much, Victoria! That’s great to hear. 🙂
These bars are a favourite of my family and friends. I always make a double batch, and freeze to have on hand for a quick, tasty dessert.
Thanks so much, Sue! 🙂 I appreciate your feedback!
Could I have the recipe as well? I had the pie recipe book marked. Thanks Laura!
Excellent recipe! So easy to make.
Thanks so much, Marie!
These bars are super easy to make and so delicious! Love the blackberry filling with all the buttery crumble.
🎉 Laura~ I tried your recipe today! Last minute I added raspberries to the blackberries. I used tapioca pudding instead of cornstarch. I splurged and added 2 xtra tablespoons of butter. I like bars extra buttery! It’s delicious!! Thank you so much!
Thanks so much, Tara! That’s so nice to hear. 🙂