Hi, friends.
Let’s cut right to the chase. There are three types of colorful berries, a crumbly topping, a golden crust, and ultimately 3 sticks of butter baked in this 9×13 pan of berry pie bars.
Or… well… used to be 3 sticks of butter.
I think Bjork and I dealt with the first 2 sticks pretty well (judging by the picture), and the third is headed where the first two have gone. Which is to the top of the list of things we ate, loved, and will love again.
Because what’s not to love about a bar so versatile that it can be served warmed or chilled, with ice cream or whipped cream, for dessert or breakfast (…um, it’s fruit)?
Triple Berry Pie Bars
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: 24 servings 1x
Description
These triple berry pie bars and perfect for summer get-togethers. Buttery crust, sweet berry filling, and a crumbly top layer. It’s like pie in bar form!
Ingredients
Crust and Topping
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup quick oats
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled
Fruit Filling
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3/4 cup flour
- pinch salt
- zest of 1/2 lemon (I did not use this, but I wished that I had!)
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 (16-oz) packages frozen mixed berries (strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries)
Instructions
- To make the crust and topping, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 baking pan.
- Put oats into the food processor and pulse until a coarse “flour” forms. Add the regular flour, sugar, and salt to the food processor. Pulse a few times to mix. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes, and add to the flour mixture. Process until the butter is evenly distributed but the mixture is still crumbly, 30-60 seconds. (I had to do this in 3 batches because of the size of my food processor.)
- Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the mixture to use as the topping. Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the pan, and bake 12-15 minutes. Cool for at least 10 minutes.
- To make the filling, whisk the eggs in a large bowl, then add the sugar, sour cream, flour, salt, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Gently fold in the berries and spoon the mixture over the crust. Sprinkle the remaining flour mixture evenly over the filling, and bake 45 to 55 minutes.
- Cool at least 1 hour before cutting into bars. Serve bars warmed, chilled, or at room temperature! Either way, I’d recommend them with a scoop of ice cream.
- Prep Time: 25 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: triple berry pie bars, pie bars, berry pie bars
Yes, I’d say this dessert recipe is a keeper.
My skinny jeans might say otherwise.
But I say it’s a keeper, and I make the rules around here.
I just got around to making these. The crust was super thick – even after pressing it up the sides of the pan to the top and reserving the portion for the topping. Also, the recipe doesn’t say to thaw or drain the frozen berries so I didn’t. Even after letting it cook a bit longer I still ended up with a soupy, runny custard center. I will definitely try it again, maybe when fresh berries are in season this summer to cut some of the moisture, liquid. It sure looked pretty before I cut into it.
I made the Triple Berry Pie Bars yesterday. The recipe has everything going for it, buttery crumb layer on the bottom, fruit filling with a custard like texture topped off with more of the delicious butter crumb on top. My only complaint is with using frozen berries as the recipe suggests. I cooked the bars 90 minutes — not 45-55! I could not get the mixture to set. Every time I checked the pan, they were jiggly in the center. Finally I just had to pull them out and take them to choir practice. They cooled over 2 hours firmed up a bit (the center pieces were still very soft-had to eat with a fork). Everyone loved them and raved about the flavor and texture. I did add a half teaspoon of almond extract. Next time I make this I will thaw my berries first. I think that step is missing from the instructions.
Can you freeze this recipe in squares?
I made these bars last night and had the same problem as all of the other reviewers. It did not set up properly. I too cooked it for extra time, but to no avail. I believe the filling needed either more flour or less sugar which equates to more more liquid when baked. Perhaps it could use 1 less egg as well. Mine tested great but did not look at all like the picture when sliced. They were overly sweet so cutting back the sugar is a start.
These turned out perfect and tasted delicious!
Do you thaw the berries first? I made this once years ago and loved it but I don’t recall about the thawing part and I didn’t make a note.
Hi Janet! No need to thaw the berries!