I have been itching to bake ever since we moved into our apartment here in San Francisco. I tried baking a couple of weeks ago and it was a total fail. Cookies turned out too hard and muffins too dry. But, with anything, there's always room for improvement.
I had a bag of peaches and some blueberries that were just sitting in the fridge, so I decided that I needed to use them and what better way than to bake something. At first it was going to be a pie, then muffins, and then I thought "bars". I found a great recipe from Smitten Kitchen for blueberry crumb bars, and I decided to just throw in some peaches and call them "blueberry & peach cobbler bars", which has a nice ring to it.
Here's what you'll need:
CRUMBS
- 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 cups (390 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Zest of one lemon
- 1 cup (8 ounces or 225 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
- 1 large egg
FRUIT
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
- 4 cups fresh blueberries
- 3-4 peaches chopped
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch pan.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. Dough will be crumbly and slightly come together. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.
3. In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries and chopped peaches. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer evenly.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour (give or take 10 minutes depending on your oven and how brown you want it on top), or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares. Save in fridge for up to a week or freeze for up to 2 months to eat at a later date.
These are perfect for a morning or mid-day snack, especially when you're on the go. Stick them in the fridge and grab one before you head out the door.
Enjoy!
-Halee