After dinner at home one night last week, Jeff and I walked over to our neighborhood favorite, Watts Grocery, for dessert. It was a totally indulgent treat that made a weeknight feel special. I highly recommend trying a “dessert date.” The menu just switched over for the summer so all the options were new to us. We picked out a cheesecake with berry sauce, lemon curd, and a pecan crust. Of course it was absolutely divine.
Later that week I found myself searching through my dessert recipes, looking for something to make for a lunch for friends. I stumbled upon a Fine Cooking clipping for blueberry lemon bars and was reminded of the cheesecake. The flavor profiles are similar, with oats standing in for the pecans and the condensed milk mixture acting as a lemon curd. These bars are cold, rich, and creamy without feeling too heavy, which makes them a perfect summer dessert in my book. One word of warning as the 4th of July weekend begins – the recipe states that these bars shouldn’t be kept out of the fridge for more than a few hours, so they may not be the right treat for a beach barbecue. Save them for a time when you are sticking closer to home.
Printable version of Blueberry Streusel Bars with Lemon
Blueberry Streusel Bars with Lemon-Cream Filling
Makes 24 bars
8 oz. (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
13 ½ oz. (3 cups) all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/3 cups packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. table salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 large egg, separated
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
½ cup fresh lemon juice
2 ½ cups (13 oz) fresh blueberries, washed and drained on paper towels, at room temperature
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Line a 9×13-inch metal baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang to lift the bars out of the pan. Grease bottom and sides of pan/foil.
Combine flour, oats, salt, sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Reserve 2 cups of this mixture for the topping. Add the egg white into the remaining mixture and stir with a spatula to combine. Press the mixture into the prepared baking pan. It helps to use the flat side of a measuring cup or spatula to even the mixture out. Bake until top of crust begins to form a dry top, 10-12 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk the condensed milk, lemon juice, and egg yolk together. Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes to thicken.
Remove baking pan from the oven and sprinkle the blueberries evenly over the hot crust. Drop spoonfuls of the lemon mixture over the blueberries and then gently smooth with a spatula to even out the lemon layer. The lemon mixture does not need to perfectly cover the crust. Bake for about 7-8 minutes, until the lemon mixture starts to form a shiny skin.
Sprinkle the reserved topping over the bars, pressing the streusel between your fingers into small lumps as you sprinkle.
Bake until the filling is bubbling at the edges and the topping is brown, about 25-30 minutes. Let the bars cool in the cool and then store in the refrigerator until ready to cut and serve.
From Fine Cooking
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