Sweet blueberry lemon bars with a shortbread crust, fresh blueberries and lemons and a crumble topping. This summery dessert is best served chilled making it a perfect make ahead treat!
Ahhh - blueberries and lemon! It doesn't seem to matter if it's in blueberry lemon bread, blueberry lemon bundt cake or blueberry lemon popsicles, this combination is always a winner! This time it's featured in a dessert bar.
This dessert is composed of four different layers - shortbread crust, blueberries, lemon filling and a crumbly topping. Each bite is just perfect!
Key ingredients
- Blueberries - I used fresh blueberries, but you could use frozen too. Just increase the baking time to one hour
- Fresh squeezed lemon juice
- Freshly grated lemon zest
- One can sweet and condensed milk - makes the lemon filling so yummy
- Egg yolks
Step by step directions
- Make the crust - puree flour, sugar, butter and salt together until crumbly. Place in a greased baking dish and bake for 10 minutes.
- Make the filling - combine sweet and condensed milk, egg yolks, lemon juice and lemon zest.
- Make the topping - combine flour, sugar lemon zest and milk together just until crumbly
- Assemble - Pour blueberries over hot crust. Add lemon filling. Sprinkle on crumble topping
- Bake for 40 minutes in a 350 degree oven
- Cool completely before slicing. Best if refrigerated for at least 2 hours before serving
More lemon desserts
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
Looking for more great desserts? You'll want to check out all my dessert recipes!
Blueberry Lemon Bars
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 ½ cup flour
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ½ cup butter (cut into small cubes)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Filling
- 1 can sweet and condensed milk (14 ounce can)
- 2 egg yolks
- ½ cup lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 3 cups blueberries
Topping
- ¾ cup flour
- ½ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup butter (melted)
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Place flour, sugar, butter and salt in a food processor. Pulse 5-6 times until mixture is crumbly.
- Place mixture in a greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Press flour firmly down with hands or the bottom of a flat measuring cup. The mixture will be very dry.
- Place in preheated oven for 12 minutes.
Filling
- Combine sweet and condensed milk, egg yolks, lemon zest and lemon juice.
- When crust comes out of the oven, pour blueberries directly over hot crust.
- Spoon filling mixture over blueberries. It's okay it it doesn't cover every area.
Topping
- In another bowl, combine flour, sugar, melted butter and lemon zest. Mix with a spoon, just until the butter is mixed in and then continue mixing with your fingers. You want a crumbly mixture.
- Sprinkle crumbles over the top of lemon filling
- Bake in 350 degree oven for 40 - 45 minutes. The topping should be browned and the mixture bubbly.
- Allow bars to fully cool at room temperature. Then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Slice bars and serve
Notes
- Bars are best served fully chilled
- May cut bars into mini sized bars for a dessert buffet
Nutrition
Recipe inspired from Fine Cooking Magazine.
Sue says
Absolutely loved this recipe! The bars turned out perfect and it gave me a chance to use up some of our organic blueberries we grow.Making a batch for Easter dessert.
Kathy says
Thanks, Sue!!! These will make a perfect Easter dessert! I love that you grow your own blueberries. We have several plants, but they are just beginning to produce. I can't wait for a full harvest!
Kathy 🙂
Karen Hughes says
Had high hopes for this recipe. In the version you have(1x), the pan size is wrong. It should be A 7x11, and the blueberries cut back to 2 cups. The current pan size, for the amount of ingredients listed is too big. The crust didn't even cover the bottom and the amount of berries resulted in a soggy texture. I could have scraped the uncooked crust ingredients into a smaller pan when I realized it didn't look right, but my motto is to follow the recipe the first time, word for word, before altering or rejecting it. Not sure I'd try this one again.
Kathy says
Karen,
Thank you so much for your email. After I read this I went back and reread the recipe and realized something wasn't right with the crust. I then checked my notes where I record all my recipes and adjustments as I am making and testing them and realized I recorded the amount of flour in the crust incorrectly when I typed it out. It should read 1 1/2 cups of flour instead of the 1/2 cup I recorded in error.
I am so sorry for the error and that this didn't work out for you. Thank you for letting me know.
Kathy
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
I LOVE anything blueberry during the summer Kathy! And these bars look like a dessert that would disappear quickly at our house! Pinned and excited to try!
David @ Spiced says
That lemon filling looks fantastic, Kathy! I've made blueberry bars before, but now I want to make a batch with that filling, too. And of course the crumbles on top are the best part! This looks like my definition of the perfect summer dessert...or breakfast. 🙂
Kathy says
Oh yes, totally perfect for breakfast too! 😉
Valentina says
I'm loving all of your blueberry-lemon recipes. Such a winning culinary combination. Especially in baking! 🙂 ~Valentina
Kathy says
I've been in a blueberry lemon groove!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
What a delicious treat, Kathy! Love that buttery crumb top and, of course, the blueberry and lemon combo! Wish I could grab one to have with my coffee right now!!