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Blackberry pie bars are a great way to get all the delicious flavor of blackberry pie without the fuss of baking a pie! A buttery shortbread base, a creamy berry center and a streusel top and no rolling out a pie crust make for the perfect dessert.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe!
Blackberry pie bars are fantastic!!! They were a huge hit with the whole family including my parents. After eating one Cali said, “You have to put these on the blog.” That has become the standard at our house, is it blog worthy or not? These Blackberry Pie Bars definitely are!
Ingredients Needed
- Flour. I prefer unbleached all purpose flour.
- Sugar
- Salt
- Butter. I use salted butter, if using unsalted butter add in a pinch more salt.
- Eggs
- Sour cream or you can use plain Greek Yogurt.
- Blackberries. You an also use raspberries or marionberries.
How to Make Blackberry Pie Bars
- Combine butter, sugar and flour in a bowl with a pastry blender or in a food processor. Mix until crumbly.
- Set aside 1 1/2 cups of the mixture for the topping. The dough may seem a bit crumbly at first but the heat of your hands will bring it together as you push it into the pan.
- Use your fingers to push the remaining crumb topping mixture into the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. You want the other half of the mixture to remain crumbly to crumble over the top of the bars later.
- Bake the crust at 350 degrees F for 12-15 minutes or until it just begins to brown at the edges.
- In a bowl combine the filling ingredients including the eggs, sugar, sour cream, flour and salt.
- Gently fold in the blackberries.
- When the crust is done, remove from the oven and top it with the filling mixture.
- Sprinkle the top with the other half of the shortbread mixture and bake again for 45-55 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use frozen berries?
I prefer fresh berries but you can use frozen, just make sure they are thawed and well drained.
What other kind of berries can I use?
This recipe is fabulous with fresh blackberries but fresh or frozen blackberries, blueberries or raspberries are delicious too. Really, these pie bars would be good with any berry or a combo of berries you want to try! I just don’t recommend strawberries as they have more water in them and get really mushy.
How to Store Blackberry Pie Bars
I keep any leftover pie bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator, they will last 2-3 days in the fridge. I don’t like the way they freeze so eat them fresh!
If you love blackberries try these other yummy blackberry recipes:
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Blackberry Pie Bars
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 1/2 cups butter chilled
Fruit Filling
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- pinch salt
- 2 16 oz. blackberries, defrosted and drained or fresh!
Instructions
For the crust and topping:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
- Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan
- Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor fitted with the metal blade
- Process until fully combined
- Cut the butter into 1/2 inch cubes
- Add the butter to the flour mixture and process until the butter is evenly distributed, but the mixture is still crumbly
- Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the crumb mixture for the topping
- Press the remaining crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan
- Bake the crust for 12-15 minutes or until it is golden brown
- Cool for at least 10 minutes
To make the filling:
- Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl, then add the sour cream, flour and salt. Gently fold in the blackberries
- Spoon the mixture evenly over the crust
- Sprinkle the reserved crumbs evenly over the top
- Bake for 45-55 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned
- Cool for at least 1 hour before cutting
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Facts:
Stanton Bowmer-Vath says
This was a giant hit with my family too. I have mede various types of berry and apple pies over the years but this one seems to make the blackberry seeds disapear. WONDERFULL !!
Edie Baker says
I have made these many times. My boys ask for them all the time. They are great.
Amy Frew says
Alright, I was definitely skeptical with how these were going to turn out…. The main reasons being that, 1) It turns out to be so much crumble that I actually kept 2 cups aside instead of 1.5 otherwise my base would have been too thick. And 2) after the bake of the crust and pouring the custard mixture into the dish, my baking dish was FULL to the brim (and yes, I did use a 9×13!). As I started to add the crumble on top, the wet mixture was overflowing a bit on some of the corners. I knew the cook time would take longer simply because of how full the entire dish was. I probably cooked for an extra 25 minutes, and had to cover with tinfoil after the first hour so that the top didn’t burn. (I did also use a glass baking dish so I know that prolonged the cook time as well).
BUT! My oh my…. The result my patience was worth it, this is simply delightful! I did 1/2 cup less sugar in the crust mixture, and I’m glad I did. The sweetness was just right, any sweeter and I think it would have been too much.
Next time I make this I may even split it into 2 smaller pans, but at the same time the height is phenomenal so I appreciate now the reason for the pan being so full
ST says
Everyone loved them and asked for the recipe!
MJ says
These are so delicious. I had to bake them longer but could be my oven.