What's Baking: Blueberry Crumble Bars

With less than a month to the official start of summer, I'm starting to put some important dates on my calendar -- that is, the start of the strawberry, cherry, and blueberry seasons -- so that we don't miss any opportunities to pick our own. Last summer, D and I had a great time road-tripping across the state on the weekends to seek out fresh berries. Some were eaten fresh, some were canned as pie filling, and a whole lot ended up frozen whole in the freezer.

The blueberries that star in this crumble bar recipe were picked last summer in Bayfield, Wisconsin. (We will definitely be making a return trip to Blue Vista Farm this summer.) The berries freeze beautifully, and with no need to thaw, make this recipe a breeze to bake.

I made these blueberry crumble bars to share at a recent gathering of friends and they were quick to disappear from the potluck table. I'd say that's a pretty good sign that these little bars taste just as good as they look.

I made a double-batch to accommodate a large crowd, but this recipe is easily halved if you have fewer mouths to feed. It's also easily adaptable to any fruit you have on hand, though you may have to adjust the cooking time for firmer fruits such as apples.

Bring on berry season! 

Blueberry Crumble Bars (printer-friendly version)

makes 24 bars

2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups (plus up to 2 tablespoons more if necessary) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
4 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen), divided
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a 9x13-inch baking dish with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, brown sugar, and salt. Stir in the melted butter until small clumps form. If the crumb mixture seems too damp, stir in an additional two tablespoons of flour. Reserve 1 cup of the crumb mixture. Press the remaining crumb mixture into the bottom of the prepped baking dish.
3. Spread two cups of blueberries over top the crust. Sprinkle with cornstarch, lemon juice, lemon zest, and 1 tablespoon sugar. Then add the remaining blueberries and top with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar. Sprinkle evenly with the reserved crumb topping.
4. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and fruit is bubbling. Remove from the oven and let cool. Chill in the fridge for slightly crisper bars. Cut into squares with a sharp knife. Store any leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator.

What's For Dessert: Skillet Apple Cobbler

D and I were invited over to a gathering last night, and I knew whatever I'd bring along to share for dessert would involve apples, as we still have quite a few of them in the refrigerator left over from our apple-picking trip to Blue Vista Farm in Bayfield, Wisconsin.

I pored over apple recipes, trying to decide what to make. I knew I wanted something that would use up a lot of apples but an apple pie was out of the question as I wasn't in the mood to deal with a fussy pastry crust. (Making pie crusts still makes me nervous.)

I came upon a few recipes for apple cobbler and decided that would be the winner. There are many different styles of cobbler crusts -- some recipes have you drop rounds of dough over the fruit, while others have you pat the dough over the entire top of the cobbler. I decided to do a hybrid of the two by rolling out the dough and cutting out fluted biscuit circles to cover the top of my cobbler. I covered the entire cobbler, but I think it would look just as nice if some more of the fruit was able to peek through.

Baking the cobbler in a cast-iron skillet makes for a great presentation, and of course, this crowd-pleasing dessert wouldn't be completed without a little scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.

Skillet Apple Cobbler (printer-friendly version)
makes 6-8 servings

For the apple filling:
2-3 pounds (8 cups) apples, cored, peeled, and sliced (1/4-inch thick)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch

For the cobbler dough:
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
3/4 cup cold heavy cream, plus more for brushing
sanding sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a large oven-safe skillet, add together the apples, butter, sugar, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, and salt and cook over medium heat. Continue to cook for several minutes until the apples are just beginning to caramelize and have softened slightly.
3. In a small bowl, stir together the lemon juice and cornstarch. Pour the mixture onto the apples and stir to combine. Remove the skillet from the heat.
4. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt until combined. Add the butter cubes and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal, and just a few pea-sized butter pieces remain. Add in the heavy cream and pulse a few time until combined.
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Pat the dough into a round and then roll out until about 1/2-inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter to cut out 12-15 dough circles. Place the biscuits on top of the apples in the skillet in a circular pattern. Brush each biscuit top with heavy cream and sprinkle with sanding sugar.
6. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden brown and the fruit is bubbling. Pro-tip: place an aluminum-foil wrapped baking sheet on the rack below to catch any drips from the skillet above. Serve warm or at room temperature.