Blueberry Lemon Custard Bars

It was almost 5 o’clock on a Saturday afternoon. I was having friends over that night and had just put to rest a miserably failed recipe. I had just used up my last block of chocolate and was low on eggs… so the big question: what to make?

When you are invited to my house, I try to make sure food is involved. It’s the polite thing to do. Above all, I try not to waste any opportunities for soliciting recipe taste-testing (I need other opinions aside from mine and my husbands!). I was determined to come up with something.  I was in luck when I remembered I had a carton of fresh blueberries, lemons, 2 eggs and approximately 2 hours. That would do!

These bars are a cross between lemon bars and a blueberry crumble pie. They have a similar custard filling to lemon bars with just enough blueberries and oats for added texture. These bars took inspiration from these fruit pie bars, yet these bars really make use of the word “custard” here. Each bar has a good amount of lemon filling and they are delicately baked to produce an ultra soft bite without much crisp. There isn’t enough blueberries to overpower the lemon, nor fruit to up sell the buttery crust.

They are best served chilled, but they can be enjoyed right out of the oven or at room temperature. Packed with whole food ingredients and all natural sweeteners, these have the purest, freshest flavor! These Blueberry Lemon Bars have just enough spark to satisfy girls nights to date nights. I know you’ll love them as much as we did!

Blueberry Lemon Custard Bars (dairy-free)

Crust:
3/4 cup Butter, softened (I used Earth Balance to make dairy-free)
2/3 cup Powdered Honey or Maple Sugar
1 1/3 cups White Spelt Flour
1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt
1 1/2 teaspoons Lemon Zest, divided
1/3 cup Oats
2 Tablespoons Xylitol or Erythritol

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Adjust baking rack to the middle position in the oven. Line a 9 x 9 baking dish with parchment paper and slightly grease.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the butter, sweeteners, flour, salt and 1 teaspoon lemon zest. Mix until ingredients are combined but chunks of butter remain. Reserve about 1/3 of dough for the top. Take the remaining  2/3 amount of dough and press gently into the prepared baking dish. Place in oven and bake for 10 minutes, until baked but not golden.

To the 1/3 portion of dough, add the oats, 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest,  and sweetener. Mix until incorporated. Prepare the filling.

Filling:
2 Large Organic Eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup Powdered Honey
1/3 cup Erythritol or Xylitol
1/2 cup White Spelt Flour
1/2 cup Plain Yogurt (can use regular, Greek or vegan)
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
3 tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
¼ teaspoon Sea Salt
1 cup Blueberries (washed and patted dry)

In a small mixing bowl, combine eggs, sweeteners, yogurt, vanilla, lemon juice and salt. Mix until incorporated. Add flour and gently add berries. Pour over bottom crust. Crumble dough topping over the filling. Place the bars back in the oven for another 20 minutes or until the middle is no longer wiggly. Turn oven to broil and broil for about 30 seconds until the tops are lightly golden. Remove bars from oven and allow bars to cool in the fridge for about 1 hour. Slice into squares and serve.

Makes 9-12 bars

Inspired by Joy The Baker