i'd rather be baking

Blueberries are something of an acquired taste for me. Whether it be scones, muffins, or just fruit in general, anything with blueberries has never been my first pick. But in recent years I’ve come to enjoy them and even adopted my mom’s habit of eating them atop my cereal every morning.

I’m now able to fully appreciate the bounty of blueberries that comes with midsummer, and recently found two pounds for $3.99. That’s the best price I’ve seen around here and had to snatch them up. I’ve been happily gobbling them every chance I get, and last week decided it was time to bake some.

I love a good cobbler or crumble as much as the next person, and I think this is the best crumble recipe I’ve seen in a while. It’s simpler than most because one dough becomes both crust and crumb topping. This is a perfect vehicle for summer berries – I’d love to try it with raspberries or blackberries.

The original version calls for lemon zest, which I think is a more traditional pairing with blueberries, but we have more oranges than we know what to do with thanks to our California-loving CSA, so I decided to try it with orange zest instead. The brightness of the orange is a beautiful complement to the sweet, juicy blueberries and gives the dough a wonderful tanginess.

Orange Blueberry Crumb Bars
Barely adapted from My Baking Addiction

1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsalted butter or margarine
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 tteaspoon kosher salt
zest of one orange

4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 teaspoons cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a 9×13 inch pan with parchment paper or foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, salt, lemon zest and baking powder.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg and vanilla together until combined.

Use pastry cutter or your food processor (or your fingers) to blend the flour mixture with the butter and egg/vanilla mixture. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.

In another bowl, stir together 1/2 cup sugar and cornstarch. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

High-Altitude Notes: Bake at 400°F for 35-40 minutes.