Blueberry bars

These blueberry bars have a ooey gooey fresh blueberry filling enveloped in sweet buttery dough.

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Ingredients

112 grams or 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
150 grams or 3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or essence
190 grams or 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
blueberry filling at room temperature

For the blueberry filling :

100 grams or 3/4 cup blueberries fresh or frozen
50 grams or 1/4 cup sugar
60 ml or 1/4 cup water
1 tbsp cornflour
2 tsp lemon or lime juice

For the lemon/ lime glaze (optional) :

50 grams or 1/2 cup icing sugar or powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
10 grams or about 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter at room temperature or melted

Instructions

To make the blueberry filling :

In a saucepan , measure out the blueberries , sugar, lime/lemon juice and 2 tablespoons (half ) of the water
Over medium heat , heat until the sugar is melted and the blueberries are half broken down (mushy ). Taste and add more sugar / lime or lemon juice as needed.
In a small bowl, mix the corn flour in the 2 remaining two tablespoons of water .
Turn the heat to low , add the corn flour mixture and continue heating for 3-4 minutes stirring constantly as it thickens further.
Keep in mind that the filling will thicken further as it cools.
Take off heat and cool completely before using.

To make the blueberry bars :

Preheat the oven to 350 F / 180 C. Butter and flour a 8 inch square pan . Line the bottom with parchment paper (optional)
In a bowl , stir or sift together flour , baking powder and salt. Keep aside.
In another bowl , beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy and creamy.
Add the eggs , ONE BY ONE , beating well after each egg to incorporate well.
Add the vanilla and beat well.
Add the flour mixture and beat until it comes together
In your prepared pan , spread about half the batter / dough as evenly as possible.
Spread / spoon the blueberry filling on top .
Spread the remaining batter / dough on top or just adds in clumps all over
Bake at 180 C/ 350 F for 42 to 45 minutes until top is lightly browned
Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes
If using, make the lemon or lime glaze by mixing together sifted icing sugar , butter and lemon / lime juice until smooth
Gently remove the bars slab from the pan and place right side up on a cooling rack
When the bars are still warm , using a spoon pour the lemon/lime glaze over the top. You can also pipe it on in lines.
Cool completely before slicing and serving !

Notes

The bars remain good for upto 3 days at room temperature and longer in the refrigerator.

This recipe can be doubled to be baked in a 9 x 13 inch pan

For making a small batch , divide all ingredients in half and bake in a loaf pan for 32 to 35 minutes.

Don't worry too much about the evening out the batter layers as it is sticky and it doesn't make a difference after baking.

You can use fresh or frozen blueberries ( I used fresh ) , or you can even use store-bought blueberry pie filling / or any other fruit filling.

Taste the lemon/lime glaze and add more lemon juice if needed. But this will thin it out , so you may need to add more icing sugar as well. A thinner glaze will seep into the bars while a thicker one will stay on as a layer or lines like icing .

My measuring cup is 240 ml.