Blueberry Pie Bars
Samantha Seneviratne
2023 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
2,023
About 1 hour 10 minutes, plus chilling
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Heat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, ⅓ cup granulated sugar, the lemon zest, baking powder and salt. Add the butter and use your fingers to quickly flatten each piece of butter into the flour mixture. The butter should be pliant but not melty. If it starts to get too soft, refrigerate the mixture for a few minutes before moving on.
In another large bowl, whisk together the ½ cup/120 milliliters heavy cream with the lemon juice and egg until combined. Add the cream mixture to the flour mixture and stir with a fork until the dough is evenly moistened.
Tip the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper. Work it a few times, just to get the mixture to come together, but don’t overwork it. Pat the dough into a 5-inch square. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into two rectangles, then cut each rectangle crosswise into 3 pieces. Separate them on the parchment paper, slide the parchment paper onto a baking sheet and freeze for 15 minutes.
Just before baking, brush the top of each shortcake with cream and sprinkle liberally with granulated sugar. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of one shortcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, smash ¼ cup/35 grams of the blueberries. Add the remaining whole blueberries and crystallized ginger and toss to combine. Whip the cream to medium-stiff peaks with the confectioners’ sugar, if using.
To serve, split the shortcakes in half and top the bottom half with whipped cream and berries. Replace the top.
Amazeballs. I cut into 8 pieces, prepped the night before (also did the blueberry filling ahead), and used turbinado sugar on top for the crunch. So very very very good! https://www.katecooksthebooks.com/lemon-shortcakes-with-gingered-blueberries/
I baked them today too, exactly as recipe is written,except I used half and half instead of heavy cream (pantry cooking). The best shortcakes I've ever made, my family agreed. I had read other reviews and lowered my oven to 375-400 ( kinda in between). They still only needed 18-20 minutes and the bottoms were brown but not burnt. Got them just in time.
Baking at 425 burnt the bottom. Scraped the burnt part off and the rest was perfect. Next time I will cook on a higher rack in the oven, maybe at 400. I will also make 8 instead of 6 next time -- they were big! Overall they were absolutely delicious!
Really, really good! Followed the recipe exactly but cut into smaller pieces.
Baked 8 of them at 385F. Perfect. We didn’t feel that the ginger added anything so I won’t put it in again. The lemon zest and juice were perfect though. Will definitely make again.
I halved the recipe, cutting back a little on the lemon juice due to the liquid in the egg. I also did not freeze before baking or top with cream and sugar. (I used 1/4 cup sugar in the dough). I cut into 5 generous (biscuit sized) pieces and baked at 425. The bottoms were burnt. (I bake scones at 400 degrees for 17 minutes and would suggest trying that.) Otherwise, it was very good!
Baked this yesterday with my granddaughter, an experienced baker. I was worried about curdling the cream when mixing it with lemon juice. Got around that worry by adding the egg and cream before the lemon juice. Whew, no curdling. The result was a nice light shortcake, but not nearly as good and moist as other recipes for strawberry shortcake by Melissa Clark. Will not be making this again.
Shortcake texture was a bit too dense. Everyone loved it nonetheless. If I make again I will definitely tweak to make slightly more cake-like and less rock-like.
This was incredibly good! the lemon shortcake recipe made the best shortcake I've ever had. And the addition of crystallized ginger to the blueberries elevated the flavor profile. A truly great dessert!
First, that the crystallized ginger would be too harsh but it was absolutely perfect, adding a judicious bit of brightness and contrast to all the sweet lusciousness. Second, the shortcake dough was so flaky as I assembled that I feared it would crumble to bits when I cut the cakes in half. I sliced with trepidation, nerves of steel and a good bread knife and was relieved when they maintained their corporal integrity beautifully. What I should have been worried about was how much I’d want to
Baking at 425 burnt the bottom. Scraped the burnt part off and the rest was perfect. Next time I will cook on a higher rack in the oven, maybe at 400. I will also make 8 instead of 6 next time -- they were big! Overall they were absolutely delicious!
I add a layer of pastry cream on the bottom of the cake layer and then stack as written. I have a pastry cream obsession. Strawberries and blackberries are my favorite. Alas, blueberries in Miami have almost no flavor any time of year.
Even more delicious with raspberries instead of blueberries. The combo of raspberries, cream, and lemon is to die for!
Try at 400, make smaller biscuits
This can easily be made nondairy by using vegan butter (I used Mykonos) and nondairy yogurt (I used Nancy’s oat milk yogurt). The portion size was enormous the first time I made it, so second time patted out the dough and used a biscuit cutter - got 10 cakes. Next time would make half recipe or freeze half, bake half. Lovely shortcake recipe!
I whip my cream a bit stiffer, then blend in a spoonful of plain yogurt. Mmm. Made these this morning with plain sugar as I had no crystallized ginger. Just as delicious. Looking forward to making them with fresh strawberries as June begins.
Delicious, but I followed the recipe exactly and my bottoms burned as well! I recommend lowering the oven temperature.
I baked them today too, exactly as recipe is written,except I used half and half instead of heavy cream (pantry cooking). The best shortcakes I've ever made, my family agreed. I had read other reviews and lowered my oven to 375-400 ( kinda in between). They still only needed 18-20 minutes and the bottoms were brown but not burnt. Got them just in time.
I made these for Easter and they were a big hit. I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten free flour and prepped them to freeze overnight. Added about 5 minutes to the baking time, and they came out delicious. Will definitely bake again.
Very delicious (and freeze so well; I too cut them a smidge smaller) but in my electric oven 425 was too hot and bottoms browned way too much. Issue was not bake time (as I learned when I baked the second 2), so next time will try 400 or 375.
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