Blackberry Oatmeal Crumb Bars combine tangy cooked blackberries and with a buttery, sweet crumble. Plus, they’re great for novice bakers!
Why you should make these bars!
These blackberry crumble bars are such an easy, delicious treat! Feel free to swap out any of your favorite berries. The crumb layers on the top and bottom are actually made from the same batch of dough, so in a few simple steps, you can make a homemade dessert that your friends and family will love.
Ingredient Notes
Blackberries: You can use fresh or frozen berries for this recipe. If you can’t find blackberries, any type of berry will work, but the cook time may vary. You can even buy store bought jam and spread enough to create a layer about ½ to ¾ inches thick.
Oats: Old fashioned rolled oats provide great texture. I have not tested this recipe with instant oats, but those would likely work as well.
Sugar: I like light brown sugar for the flavor and texture. You could also use part dark brown sugar and part granulated sugar.
Recipe Steps
First, cook the blackberries (see below). This may take a little longer if you’re using frozen fruit. You could also skip this step and used store bought jam.
Next make the crumble. It’s similar to making a shortbread crust. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Toss in the butter cubes. Cut in the butter to create coarse crumbs.
Separate out ⅔ of the crumbs and press into a baking dish. Prebake the bottom layer. Then top with the jam and remaining crumbs and bake until golden brown. Once cooled, cut into bars.
Blackberry Crumb Bar Tips and FAQs
- Feel free to substitute strawberries, blueberries or raspberries for the blackberries. You can even use a combination of fruit! Just remember cook time may vary.
- To save time, use store bought jam. Thinner jams will work better. Avoid using jelly.
- Make sure your butter is cold before making the crumble for the best texture.
Fruit crumble bars freeze very well. Wrap the cut bars individually in plastic and store in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.
This recipe is written for an 8×8 or 9×9 inch pan. To cook it in a 9×13 pan, I would multiply all the ingredients by 1.5 times and create a larger batch. That way, the bars will be the same thickness and cook a similar amount of time.
Related Recipes
- Lemon Bars
- Granola Bars
- Avocado Brownies
- Dark Chocolate Chunk Brownies with Tamarind Caramel
- Red Wine Brownies with Ganache
- Brownies with Salted Brandy Ganache
- Milk Chocolate Brownies with Peanut Butter Ganache
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Blackberry Oatmeal Crumb Bars
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 16 bars 1x
Description
Blackberry Oatmeal Crumb Bars combine tangy cooked blackberries and with a buttery, sweet crumble. Plus, they’re great for novice bakers!
Ingredients
Jam:
- 1 ½ pounds (5 cups) blackberries (fresh or frozen)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt or a pinch of fine salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
Bars:
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
- ¾ cups light brown sugar, packed
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt or ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg or ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch cubes, chilled
Instructions
- Preheat oven and prep pan: Heat oven to 375°F. Grease an 8 by 8 or 9 by 9 inch baking pan with butter, line with parchment, leaving an overhang on two sides, and grease again.
- Cook berries: Add blackberries, sugar and salt to a nonstick pan. Turn heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15-20 minutes or until juices thicken and become syrupy. Keep in mind that jam will continue to thicken upon cooling. Transfer to a bowl to cool. Stir in lemon juice.
- Mix crumbs: In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar, spices and lemon zest. Toss butter cubes in dry ingredients. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in butter until coarse crumbs form. The crumbs should stay together when pressed. You can also do this in a food processor, pulsing to cut the butter into the dry ingredients.
- Prebake crust: Add two-thirds of the crumb mixture to the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Put remaining crumbs in the fridge. Press crumbs into a compact even layer. Bake 14-16 minutes or until golden brown and firm to the touch. Cool on a wire rack.
- Finish baking: Spread jam over cooled crust. Sprinkle over remaining crumbs. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbling. Cool on a wire rack.
- Serve: Lift sides of parchment to remove bars from pan. Remove and discard parchment. Cut into squares and serve.
Notes
- Feel free to substitute strawberries, blueberries or raspberries for the blackberries. You can even use a combination of fruit! Just remember cook time may vary.
- To save time, use store bought jam. Thinner jams will work better. Avoid using jelly.
- Fruit crumble bars freeze very well. Wrap the cut bars individually in plastic and store in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.
- This recipe is written for an 8×8 or 9×9 inch pan. To cook it in a 9×13 pan, I would multiply all the ingredients by 1.5 times and create a larger batch. That way, the bars will be the same thickness and cook a similar amount of time.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/16 of pan
- Calories: 220
- Sugar: 19g
- Sodium: 187mg
- Fat: 9g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 33g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 23mg
Finally a great way to use our abundance of wild blackberries!
Yes – both parts look great – though my shortbread has never been that good!
Aw, thank you!! I’m sure you can improve your shortbread!
That simple homemade blackberry jam sounds delicious all on its own! these crumb bars look insane good, nice and easy recipe, love it
Thank you so much, Albert! The jam is good on its own too!
Great recipe Sabrina……
Thank you!