Blueberry Crumb Bars

Inspired by Epicurious, Bon Apetit, July 2009

Ingredients:

Crust

2 cups/340 grams of flour

1 cup/120 grams of oatmeal

1 cup/200 grams of brown sugar

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp cinnamon

1 cup/225 grams of baking margarine or unsalted butter cut into cubes

½ cup/60 grams of chopped almonds and pecans

Filling

3 cups/350 grams of fresh blueberries or 12 ounce package frozen blueberries

1 cup/230 ml black currant or blueberry syrup

1 TBSP flour

1 tsp finely grated lemon peel from organic lemon

Preparation

For crust and topping

Preheat the oven to 375 F / 170 C.

Butter and dust a 13 x 9 in./33 x 23 cm. metal baking pan with flour.

Whisk flour, oats, sugar, salt, and cinnamon together in large bowl.

Add the margarine or butter – rub between your fingertips until mixture sticks together in small clumps.

Transfer 1/3 of the mixture to a medium bowl for the topping and add the nuts to it.

Press the remaining crumb mixture into the buttered and floured pan. Prick with a fork several times and bake the crust until golden brown and just firm about 15 minutes.

Cool 5-10 minutes

For filling

Mix all ingredients in a bowl

Putting it all together:

Spread the filling evenly over the baked crust in the pan and then cover it with the topping.

Bake until the filling bubbles at the edges and the topping is golden brown about 30 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the bars in it to set another 10 minutes.

Cool in the pan. The filling sets as it cools.

Cut into bars and enjoy!