Blackberry and Raspberry Pie Bars

A few weeks ago I attended another Minnesota Food Bloggers event where we had a bake off featuring bar recipes from many of the bloggers that attended. I was busy that evening so mine was more of a drop off entry, and I didn't even get to taste the other bars that were there! They all looked amazing though, and although mine didn't win, I thought they were pretty darn good.


I have always loved fruit pies, so to turn this bar into a pie variation was perfect for me. I love the custard filling on top of the rich shortbread crust and the blackberry/raspberry combo just screams summer. Obviously you could play around with the berry combination and in the dead of winter you could even throw in some frozen berries and pretend it was summer.

Blackberry and Raspberry Pie Bars
adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients

Crust
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon zest
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter

Filling
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup flour
pinch of salt
4 cups blackberries
2 cups raspberries

Directions

In a small bowl, combine the lemon zest and sugar, pressing the zest with the back of a spoon to combine.

In a medium bowl combine the flour and salt and using a pastry blender or two knives, cut the butter into the flour, until the butter is about the size of large peas. Mix in the lemon sugar.

Press 1 1/2 cups of the flour mixture into the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes.

While the crust is cooling, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, cream, flour and salt until combined. Fold in the blackberries and raspberries.

Spread the berry mixture evenly over the crust. Sprinkle the remaining crust mixture over the top of the berries. Bake for about 45-55 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool for 1 hour.