Blackberry Crumble Bars

Ingredients

• Cinnamon (1/2 teaspoon)
• Brown sugar (1/4 cup)
• Cornstarch (2 tablespoons)
• Lemon juice (1 tablespoon)
• Blackberries (2 cups)
• Vanilla extract (1 teaspoon)
• Egg (1)
• Unsalted butter (1 cup, cold and cubed)
• Salt (1/4 teaspoon)
• Granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
• All-purpose flour (2 cups)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9x9-inch baking dish with parchment paper, leaving an overhang for easy removal.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, granulated sugar, and salt. Add in the cold, cubed butter and cut it into the flour using a pastry cutter or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and vanilla extract. Pour this into the flour and butter mixture. Stir until a dough forms.
4. Take two-thirds of the dough and press it firmly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking dish to form the crust.
5. In another bowl, mix the blackberries, lemon juice, cornstarch, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Ensure all the blackberries are well coated.
6. Evenly spread the blackberry mixture over the crust in the baking dish.
7. Crumble the remaining dough over the top of the blackberry filling. This will form the delightful crumble topping.
8. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the crust and crumble topping are golden brown and the blackberry filling is bubbling.
9. Let the bars cool completely in the baking dish. Lift the bars out using the parchment paper overhang and cut them into squares.
10. Enjoy these beautiful blackberry crumble bars as they are or serve them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for an extra treat!