Thursday, September 10, 2015

Blueberry Bliss Bars



What do you get when you combine fresh blueberries, almond paste, and oatmeal together?  Blueberry Bliss Bars of course!  As you can well imagine, if I worked in your office you would be expecting birthday treats pretty often.  (OK, treats in general) The rule is around Tovolo, that if you are having a birthday and let me know, you can pick your birthday treat.  (I can veto it however. We went through a painful stretch of Whoopie Pies last year.)
It so happened to be our pal Jesse's birthday over the weekend and he requested "Something with blueberries."  My first thought was blueberries and lemon because that's one of my favorite combos and then my brain went almondy...and I couldn't be more pleased. 

There are alot of components in this recipe but it comes together really quickly and they are SO worth it!

Crust - 
Preheat over to 375F.  Line a 13" x 9" pan with parchment paper with a little overhanging the sides. (This is so you can lift it out of the pan to cut it into pieces.)
1 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup oat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch of lavender (trust me) you want to crush it up in your hand a little before you add it in.
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes (maybe 8 pieces)

Place oatmeal, flours, brown sugar, and spices in a food processor or just stir with a fork.  Add butter and pulse or cut in until you have course sand consistency.  Sprinkle about 3/4's of the mixture into the prepared pan and press it down so that it makes an even crust in the bottom of the pan.  Set aside.

Frangipane - if you are unfamiliar with the deliciousness of frangipane then I am just in time.  It is an almond kind of custard that bakes into a golden brown, moist, almondy, soft cake-like texture.  YUM!  It is great with all fruit. Frangipane is common in fruit tarts.  Anyway, get comfortable with it - it comes in peace.

1 can of Almond Paste (8oz.) this is NOT Almond filling or marzipan!
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 T sugar
1 T lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3 T all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt

Cream almond paste and butter together, add sugar and mix until incorporated and starting to get smooth.  Add flavorings and eggs.  Beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes or so.  Add flour and salt and mix until you can no longer see any flour.
Using a spatula or a off set spatula, dollop the almond mixture onto the crust in two rows.  Then gently smooth out the rows to cover the crust without lifting the crust - you will see what I mean. Leave about a 1/4 inch from the edge of the crust all the way around.
Sprinkle 1 pint of blueberries evenly over the almond mixture and then sprinkle the rest of the oatmeal crumble on top of the blueberries.
Bake in the preheated over for about 30-40 minutes.  You are looking for the middle to be set and the edges to be golden brown.  Let cool.  Cut into desired number of pieces.  I don't judge if it serves just one or two. :)
These would be killer with vanilla ice cream!




1 comment:

  1. Hi Julie,
    Thanks for making these for my birthday.
    They were absolutely delicious!
    Jesse

    ReplyDelete