Blueberry Bars with Lattice

Blueberry Bars | ZoeBakes photo by Zoe Francois

This post is originally from 2011 and it is hilarious for me to read it, since my boys are now 17 and 19 years old and no longer have little fingers, because they’re 6 feet tall. The only thing that remains the same 7 years later; they still love these Blueberry Bars!

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.

To watch me make these bars and for tips on easy lattice and stable fillings, watch my instagram video. Recipe below.

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Sour Cherry Streusel Bars

Host Zoe Francois' sour cherry streusel bars, as seen on Zoe Bakes, season 2.

These are the sour cherry streusel bars I made on the Nordic Treats episode of Zoë Bakes on Magnolia Network! In this episode I pay tribute to my Nordic heritage by preparing Swedish cream and krumkake, a pressed cookie and visiting a ladies’ church group for a lesson in making the traditional Norwegian flatbread, lefse. I make these bars because you can’t go to a gathering in Minnesota without bringing something to share!

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Coconut Macaroon Brownies

Coconut Macaroon Brownies \ Zoë Bakes photo by Zoë François

These coconut macaroon brownies are a delicious collision of two of my absolute favorite treats. They are the brilliant marriage of chewy coconut macaroons and the fudgiest brownies you will ever eat and we have Jake Cohen’s new book, Jew-ish, to thank. I grew up eating coconut macaroons at Jewish holidays and they were typically out of a box, that felt like it had surpassed its “Best By” date some decades earlier. Don’t get me wrong, I still loved them, but they had very little in the way of flavor or texture, they were just sweet and as a hippie kid, that was enough. As I got older, they failed to excite me and I learned just how easy and delightful a homemade macaroon was. At about the same time, I started making Ina Garten’s outrageous brownie recipe and I realized, in a profound way, just how much I needed chocolate in my life. But, those two recipes never found themselves stacked together in a pan and baked as one. That is what Jake did and it is a stroke of genius.

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Raspberry Cheesecake Streusel Bars

When my best friend delivered the most perfect raspberries, she just hand picked, along with homemade raspberry preserves to my front porch and the mail woman brought me Edd Kimber’s newest book, One Tin Bakes, that’s kismet. I opened the book to the page with the Raspberry Cheesecake Streusel Bars and that evening my family was devouring them. That’s the hidden secret of bars, they’re rustic in their beauty, but magnificent in flavor. and super simple to make. After eating way too many of them, my family declared they are just a little TOO GOOD! Seriously folks, this will become a favorite recipe. One you’ll bring to every school function, picnic, family gathering and the treat you snuggle on the couch with while binge watching the GBBO. There are so many simple and delicious looking recipes in Edd’s book, I’ll be baking from it a lot. 

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