Apricot Blueberry Crumble Bars with shortbread crust are an easy to make blueberry recipe that are like a mix of apricot bars and blueberry pie!
Blueberry pie bars with a sweet touch of stone fruit that can be made with fresh seasonal ingredients or they’re easy to make year round using frozen fruit and apricot jam.
Apricot bars
This recipe for Apricot Blueberry Crumble Bars is based on a recipe for apricot shortbread bars from Cosette’s kitchen. Mine adds in seasonal blueberries for bursts of fresh berry flavor. And makes them into apricot jam bars swapping apricot preserves for the fresh apricot jam that Cosette uses.
For an apricot bar recipe version using fresh apricots with a shortbread crust check out Cosette’s recipe for Apricot Shortbread Bars.
Ingredients
- Apricot jam – or substitute fresh apricots or any seasonal stone fruit like peaches, nectarines, or even mango. To substitute fresh fruit for the fruit preserves simply simmer fruit with sugar to make a homemade stovetop quick jam, then allow to cool before using in the apricot bar recipe.
- Blueberries – fresh or frozen blueberries. Or substitute raspberries or any other fresh or frozen fruit. If using frozen fruit either make into a homemade jam first or use frozen, adjusting baking time as needed.
- Shortbread crust – butter, confectioners sugar, egg, flour, salt, baking powder.
Step by step instructions
- To make apricot bars with shortbread crust begin by making the shortbread dough. Blend room temperature butter and confectioners sugar until creamy. Add egg and combine. Then in a small bowl whisk dry ingredients together before stirring into the dough. Dough will be crumbly and that’s okay. Cover and refrigerate shortbread dough until ready to use, up to 3 days.
- When ready to bake pour roughly ½ – ¾ of the crumbly shortbread dough into a small ¼ sheet pan or similar sized glass baking dish. Press dough into sides and along the bottom until even using a firm hand or a small smooth drinking glass to roll the dough into the pan.
- Spread apricot jam over shortbread.
- Top with a scattering of fresh blueberries.
- And sprinkle the remaining crumbly shortbread dough over top.
- Bake in preheated 350 degree Fahrenheit oven until blueberries and apricot filling is bubbly and the crumble topping is just starting to turn brown.
- Allow to cool. Then remove from pan and cut into squares, bars or thin slices.
- Serve and enjoy!
How to serve
Enjoy the bars unadorned to savor the golden crumbs, dust with powdered sugar or top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Make ahead
The shortbread dough can be made and refrigerated before baking for up to three days. Once baked shortbread bars stay crumbly and delicious for up to 5 days if stored covered at room temperature.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened, 2 sticks, plus extra for rolling as needed
- ¾ cup confectioners sugar
- 1 large egg
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- ½ cup apricot jam
- 1 ½ cups fresh blueberries
Instructions
- Make shortbread crust. In a large beat butter and sugar until combined. Add egg and beat well, scraping as needed.
- In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into dry ingredients until combined. Dough will be crumbly. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use, up to 3 days.
- When ready to bake preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a quarter sheet pan or small glass baking dish by either lining with parchment paper or greasing lightly.
- Pour roughly ½ – ¾ of the crumbly shortbread dough into the pan to form the bottom crust.
- Press dough into sides and along the bottom until even using a firm hand or a small smooth drinking glass to roll the dough into the pan.
- Stir apricot jam well then pour and spread evenly over shortbread.
- Top with a scattering of fresh blueberries.
- Sprinkle the remaining crumbly shortbread dough over top.
- Bake in preheated 350 degree Fahrenheit oven until blueberries and apricot filling is bubbly and the crumble topping is just starting to turn brown, 30-45 minutes.
- Allow to cool. Then remove from pan and cut into squares, bars or thin slices.
Nutrition
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