These crumbly Almond Blueberry Bars are incredibly easy to make and packed with summery blueberry flavor. They make the perfect dessert, snack... Or even breakfast!
(This recipe for Almond Blueberry Bars was originally posted in July 2008, but was updated with new photos in 2019).
This is one of those recipes where halfway through I almost just threw it all away. You know when you're baking something and you just think, "This is SO not going to come out well"?? Not to mention I was in a big rush to finish packing for my family reunion in upstate NY and I had just finished making a loaf of cinnamon bread.
But I'm glad I didn't throw it away because these bars actually came out perfectly. I, however, think I ate the whole batch myself. Trying to make a semi-healthy cookie/bar for your family reunion where there will be brownies, cookies, and other forms of chocolate delicious-ness is a pretty stupid idea. Let's see, almond jam cookies or mint chocolate brownies?? Hmm, tough choice. But now I wish I sold them harder because seriously, these almond blueberry bars are such a delicious treat!
ALMOND BLUEBERRY BARS RECIPE
While I've always loved blueberries, I've recently become obsessed with them and will eat anything and everything involving them. So when this original recipe told me to choose whatever kind of jam I wanted, I automatically bought a nice big jar of blueberry jam from Trader Joe's (um, it is amazing and I've been eating it on my toast ever since). But if blueberry isn't quite your thing, you can use any flavor jam you want.
This recipe is super easy and will come together very quickly. You just need to make a dough by mixing flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder together in a bowl. Then you'll cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in another bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk. And slowly mix in the flour mixture into the sugary buttery goodness mixture. Add the sliced almonds in too.
This is where I was getting a little nervous because the dough seemed super dry and crumbly.
No worries though because this is how it's supposed to be!
Butter an 8x8 dish and press half of the dough onto the bottom of the pan. With a spoon, spread the jam over the dough, leaving a ¼ inch border.
Then sprinkle the remaining dough over the top and gently press it down. This is where I almost gave up. Because it didn't seem like enough dough was on the top layer and I thought, "No way is this going to cook right." But I figured it couldn't hurt to throw it in the oven while I finished packing for my trip. So I put it in at 350 for about 25 minutes. And when the timer went off, I took it out.
It looked good, but I figured it would be impossible to cut and would stick to the pan all crazy like. But it sliced right up and the squares came right out. Like magic!
And what do you know? These Almond Blueberry Bars were fabulous! Not only did they have the perfect moistness and crumble to them, but the jam gave them a sweet and summery little kick. They are definitely crumbly bars and I highly recommend using a napkin while eating them. But I really loved the crumble!
If you're looking for more blueberry dessert recipes, check out my Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Cups or my Blueberry Mojito Doughnuts. I also really want to try these Blueberry Ice Cream Bars from Life Made Sweeter.
Almond Blueberry Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- ¾ cup sliced almonds
- ¾ cup blueberry jam
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and lightly butter an 8x8 baking dish.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk.
- Slowly mix in the flour mixture into the butter mixture until just combined. Stir in sliced almonds.
- Put jam in a small bowl and mix with a fork to loosen it up. Alternatively, you can put the bowl in the microwave for 15 seconds to heat and loosen.
- Press half of the dough onto the bottom of prepared pan. With a spoon, spread the jam over the dough, leaving a ¼ inch border. Then sprinkle the remaining dough over the top and gently press it down.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden. Let cool in pan before slicing into squares.
Notes
- Recipe lightly adapted from Martha Stewart
Sara says
i would have chosen these almond bars over brownies! they look SO good. i think i'm going to make them soon!
Sassy Molassy says
Yum Yum!
toni says
YUMMY!!!!
Gloria says
Heyy !These are lovely to childs I think! look so good!xxGloria