This post was originally written in 2011 and it is hilarious for me to read it since my boys are now grown men and no longer have little fingers because they’re 6 feet tall. The only thing that remains the same all these years later; they still love these Blueberry Bars! I make them so often that I had to include them in my Zoë Bakes Cookies book and on my Zoë Bakes TV show. They’re a François family classic!
Note: This recipe has been updated to match my new book, Zoë Bakes Cookies. I hope you enjoy it!
Below is the 2011 Post, which I have left just as I wrote it many years ago because it captures a time in my life that was so special to me and my boys!
Year 2011: Yesterday was the official end of summer in my house. Back to school for both boys and I spent the day wishing they were home again. “Seriously?” You may ask. I spent the past several weeks anticipating the beginning of school with a certain glee, which may have bordered on unhealthy. I couldn’t wait to have peace and quiet in my house, for hours at a time. I looked forward to doing my work without interruption, sans little fingers dipping into the bowl. But, when it came to the actual day, I missed them and couldn’t wait for them to get off the bus.* Instead of pathetically staring out the window waiting, I decided to bake them some Blueberry Bars. Every MN kid loves bars.
For those of you from the coasts, I am referring to a layered dessert baked in a pan resembling a brownie/cookie/pie but can be made with fruit, caramel, chocolate, or anything else your pantry contains. Then they are cut into neat bars. I was first introduced to this concept when I moved to Minneapolis in 1993. Bars are generally served on a buffet table with lots of crock pots filled with “hot dish.” Every family has their own recipe, usually a tightly held secret, mostly kept from the neighbors.
How to Prepare the Lattice for Blueberry Bars
You will find the full recipe at the bottom of this post!
Start by making the cream cheese dough. Once it is chilled, roll it out on a well-floured surface and then use a Pastry Wheel to create strips. You can make them thick or thin, depending on what look you are going for. These strips are about 1/2-inch thick.
Lay out half the strips on a sheet of parchment, set on a cookie sheet, with some space between the strips.
Fold up every other strip and lay one of the remaining strips across those still laid flat.
Repeat with the next rows until you reach the bottom.
Start back in the middle and do the same on the other side.
Place the cookie sheet with the lattice in the freezer to stiffen.
Pour the blueberry filling over the thyme shortbread crust and let it sit while you wait for the lattice to chill.
Remove the lattice from the freezer and make sure it is the right size. This is just done by eyeballing it next to the pan, then use the pastry wheel to trim excess. You can always trim more when you place it on the filling. Quickly brush the lattice with the egg wash.
Carefully lift the lattice onto the filling. If the lattice is chilled well enough this should be a very easy task. If it is still too soft return it to the freezer until it is harder. Trim any excess. Sprinkle with the sugar.
Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes or until the crust is golden and filling bubbling.
Trim the edges and cut into equal pieces. I usually cut it into about 12 bars.
Make-Ahead Blueberry Bars
ONE DAY AHEAD: If you want to prep the various elements the day before, you can mix the Shortbread Cookie Crust, press it into the pan and refrigerate it to bake the next day. Cook the blueberry filling the day before and store in the refrigerator. Mix the Cream Cheese Dough and wrap to roll and lattice the next day. This will make the work the second day much shorter.
USING YOUR FREEZER: You can also mix and layer the recipe into the pan as directed in the recipe, then freeze the bars before the baking stage. Wrap the pan very well with plastic to prevent it from taking on the flavors of your freezer. They will freeze well for a week or two (or more if you have a deep freezer). When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven, place the unwrapped frozen pan on a baking sheet and bake as directed, but you’ll need to add about 15 minutes to the baking time since the bars are starting from frozen. This time may vary depending on your freezer and oven, so keep an eye on the bars. Once the top crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling, they are done.
Video
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Dough
- 4 oz / 112g cream cheese chilled
- 6 Tbsp / 84g unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/3 cup / 40g confectioners’ sugar
- 1 1/3 cups / 160g all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
Shortbread Cookie Crust
- 1/2 cup / 60g confectioners’ sugar
- 1 1/2 cups / 180g all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup / 170g unsalted butter cold and cut into small pieces
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp lemon thyme leaves, finely chopped optional
Blueberry Filling
- 6 cups / 890g fresh or frozen blueberries see Baker’s Note
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp very finely chopped, peeled fresh ginger
- 1/2 cup / 100g granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- Egg wash 1 egg mixed with 1 tsp water
- Granulated or sparkling sugar to sprinkle on top crust
Instructions
Cream Cheese Dough
- In the food processor, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and confectioners’ sugar until combined. Add the flour and salt, and pulse the dough several times until it comes together in a soft ball. On a sheet of plastic wrap, flatten the dough into a square and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour; the dough can be made the day before.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Grease an 8-inch / 20cm square cake pan with butter. Line the pan with a piece of parchment paper with two sides overhanging the edges of the pan to create a sling.
Shortbread Crust
- In a food processor, combine the confectioners’ sugar, flour, butter, salt, and lemon thyme (if using). Process until it forms a dough; this may take a few minutes.
- Press the dough into the prepared pan. Lay a piece of plastic wrap over the top and then rub it smooth. Lift the plastic wrap off. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 20 minutes, just until it is light golden brown. Allow the crust to cool while you prepare the blueberry filling.
Blueberry Filling
- In a medium-large saucepan, combine the blueberries, zest, and ginger. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch, then add it to the blueberries. Cook over low heat until the blueberries thicken and reduce by about half. When the blueberries are cooked down, you should have about 2 1⁄2 cups / 590ml of blueberry filling. Set aside to cool while you prepare the lattice.
- Once the cream cheese dough is chilled, roll it out on a well-floured surface until it has a thickness of about 1⁄4 inch / 6mm. Use a pastry wheel to create strips. You can make them thick or thin, depending on what look you are going for. I cut mine so they are about 1⁄2 inch / 1.3cm wide.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay out half the strips on the prepared baking sheet, with some space between the strips. Starting at the middle, fold up every other strip and lay one of the remaining strips across those still laid flat, unfold the strips over the per- pendicular strip. Repeat by folding up the strips that had laid flat, laying the next strip across. Keep repeating with the next rows until you reach the bottom. Start back at the middle and do the same on the other side. Transfer the baking sheet to the freezer to stiffen, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Once the lattice is chilled, pour the blueberry filling over the thyme shortbread crust. Remove the stiff lattice from the freezer and use a pastry wheel or knife to trim the lattice to fit the inside dimensions of the pan (you can always trim more after you place it on the filling). Brush the lattice with the egg wash (doing this before you place it on the filling will prevent the blueberries from staining the lattice).
- Carefully transfer the stiff lattice onto the filling. If the lattice is chilled well enough, this should be a very easy task. If it is too soft, return it to the freezer until it is harder. Trim off any excess. Sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 45 to 50 minutes, until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling.
- Allow the bars to cool completely before running a knife around the edge and lifting it out of the pan. Trim the edges and cut into sixteen equal pieces. They can be stored at room temperature for 1 day and then covered and refrigerated or frozen.
Just a suggestion – on the parchment paper, before the lattice is assembled, draw a stencil of the opening for your pan. You can then build the lattice over the stencil and know easily where to trim the lattice later. This also works well if using this technique to build a lattice for a pie.
This recipe looks amazing. Has anyone had success freezing this dessert? Either assembled before baking or after the bake?
Just popped them in the oven, and I know they will be delicious! Lattice was a dream and looked perfect going in! Other than the filling taking forever to boil down, instructions were spot on!
Easy to follow! My husband and I loved it. It was fun to do and not at all complicated for a multi-step recipe. I’ll keep this one! Than you for this gem.
Do you bake the bars 35-40 minutes or 40-45 minutes? The post says both. Did I miss the part where it says divide cream cheese dough in half???
Hi Kathy! Great catch. We just updated this recipe to match the one in Zoë’s new cookbook and missed that the timing was different in the blog post. It has been updated! No need to divide the cream cheese dough in half as it’s only used for the lattice top. Let us know if you have any other questions. Happy baking!
I always like to make a recipe 1x before sharing with family or friends. This recipe was simple enough to share on my first try. I did roll the cream cheese dough a little too thin and would be careful not to do that next time. If you make sure to chill the latice top long enough it will be easy to place on top of the blueberry filling.
Hi Liz,
I am so thrilled to hear it, so glad you enjoyed the bars!
Cheers, Zoë
I made these blueberry bars for the first time for my sister and her family. They loved them and brought a smile to their faces during a very difficult time. I will be making them again and again:)
Do you think this would work with blackberries?
Hi Kim, Zoe thinks it would be delicious with blackberries, but cautions that from a texture standpoint, it would be quite seedy. Cheers!
is it possible to make the with frozen peaches instead of bluberries?
Hi Vicki, Zoe has not tried it, but she thinks it will probably work. Depending on how sweet the peaches are, you may want to reduce the sugar. Chop the peaches up pretty well because the blueberries make a jam when they bake, but if the peaches are too large the top crust may slide around. Please let us know how it goes if you do give it a try!
Zoe,
Love your show, these bars look great. I hate to ask, but any suggestions for dairy free substitutions?
Hi Tessie, Zoe doesn’t have much experience baking with dairy-free alternatives, but she has had luck in other recipes with Country Crock Plant Butter. We don’t know of a good dairy-free cream cheese substitute that might work in the lattice, but if you test one and it works, please let us know! It may be better to try a recipe that’s been developed as dairy-free to ensure you have success. This one from Ambitious Kitchen is highly rated and looks delicious!
I just want to clarify that it says to divide the cream cheese dough in half. The other half is to be used another time, or for something else? There’s no mention and I assume you only need half of it for the topping? Thank you. They look wonderful and I wanna try them today.
Hi Isabella! Great question. If you are efficient you can likely make the whole lattice with just one of the dough disks. Sometimes you may need a little bit of the second, though. Happy baking!
While the recipe had multiple parts, the instructions, as always, were perfect. I made this for my blueberry loving friend and shared the rest with my blueberry loving granddaughter. Everyone agreed that this was a hit. Will be making thi one again. Just takes some time, but so we’ll worth it.