Blueberry crumb bars with crunchy polenta

As we enter September, I feel drawn to eke out a few more recipes using the last of the summer’s fruit. Blueberries, in particular, remind me of summer–I think something about going out and picking wild berries in the summer as a child makes me associate berries with days free from school or homework. These afternoons were spent gathering up as many berries as possible–ideally more than your sibling for bragging rights–popping a few in your mouth as you went (quality control, of course), and then going home to whip up something wonderful with your haul.

These blueberry crumb bars are the perfect small and portable treat to pack up a little reminder of summer to bring to school, work, or just have at home. The blueberry flavor in these bars is fantastic. While some other recipes add a full half a cup of sugar, I go for just a few tablespoons, relying primarily on the natural sweetness of the blueberries. To accentuate the blueberry flavor I add a hint of lemon zest and juice and a splash of gin. I implore you not to leave out the gin-it’s just a tiny bit, which cooks out during baking, but the juniper notes in the gin bring out the blueberry flavor in an incredible way, creating the perfect filling.

The crust and crumble topping contain some toasted almond flour and almond extract to pair with the blueberry filling. I also experimented with a trick that David Lebovitz uses for his fruit crisp topping, which is to swap out part of the flour for polenta. The large grains of the polenta ensure that the topping stays crisp and doesn’t becomes soggy within just a few hours after baking. I love the subtle flavor and the extra texture the polenta adds to the dish–you can substitute with cornmeal, although you may not get quite as much crunch.

Before we jump into pumpkin spice season, I hope you take a few minutes to savor the last days of summer. These bars come together quickly and easily, allowing you to hang onto the summer season for just a moment longer.

Blueberry crumb bars with crunchy polenta

Recipe by MoniqueCourse: Cookies and barsDifficulty: Quick bake

Yields

1

8×8 tray of bars

Prep time

20

minutes

Bake time

50

minutes

These blueberry crumb bars have a jammy, not-too-sweet blueberry filling sandwiched between buttery layers of almondy crust with polenta for added crunch. The polenta in the crumb filling is inspired by David Lebovitz’s fruit crisp topping and prevents that dreaded sogginess that often occurs after just a few hours in more classic crumb bars.

Ingredients

• For the crumb

• 1/4 cup (24g) almond flour

• 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup (40g) polenta

• scant 1/2 tsp diamond crystal kosher salt (1/4 tsp if using table salt)

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar

• 1/8 cup (25g) packed brown sugar

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

• 1/4 tsp almond extract

• For the blueberries

• 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

• 2 Tbsp granulated sugar

• 3/4 tsp gin

• zest of half a lemon

• 1 tsp lemon juice

• 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

Instructions

• Make the crumb
• Preheat the oven to 350F and line an 8×8 pan (see note) with parchment paper.
• Add the almond flour to a small skillet over medium heat and stir occasionally until golden brown and fragrant. Transfer into a bowl to cool to room temperature. Stir together the almond flour, all-purpose flour, polenta, baking powder, both sugars, and salt.
• Melt the butter and let cool slightly, just until it’s not scalding hot. Stir in the almond extract. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir until the mixture begins to clump together and the butter is well-distributed.
• Pour about half of the mixture (you may need slightly more than half) into the baking dish and using your hands or the back of a flat measuring cup, press it into the pan, distributing it evenly to form the bottom crust. Make sure it’s compressed well so that it stays together. Set the rest aside for now.
• Prepare the blueberries
• In another mixing bowl, stir together the blueberries, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, gin, and cornstarch until the blueberries are evenly coated. Pour into the crust, making sure the blueberries are evenly distributed. Take the remaining crumb mixture and gently crumble it with your hands over the surface of the bars to evenly cover the top. You want to break up the really big clumps but still keep most of the smaller clumps intact as you crumble.
• Bake for approximately 45-55 minutes, or until the top is nicely golden brown and you can see the blueberries sizzling and bubbling up a bit. Let cool at room temperature. You can slice into squares when cool and serve on the same day or, if serving the following day, place in the refrigerator to firm up more–I also find the bars maintain slightly more crunch stored this way than at room temperature overnight. Bars are best eaten within a day of baking but can be stored, covered in plastic in the refrigerator for about a week or in the freezer, tightly wrapped, for a couple of months.

Notes

• If you don’t have an 8×8 pan, you can just use a 9 x13 and fold your parchment paper up about half-way down the 13″ side, confining the bars to only half of the pan. You can also easily double the recipe for a 9×13 baking dish.
• I highly recommend using the gin, as it is important for the flavor of the filling. If you wish, you can omit it or add a splash of vanilla extract instead, but keep in mind, the flavor won’t be quite the same.

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