It’s Memorial Day Weekend, which is the kick off to the summer season and reason to break out the berries and start baking! I love to be festive and making anything that includes red, white or blue feels patriotic and necessary! These Blueberry Lemon Crumble Bars will be the perfect start to your summer and complete your Memorial Day Weekend!
I used organic frozen blueberries, but you can also use fresh blueberries. Frozen fruits and vegetables sometimes tend to be even fresher then fresh vegetables. That is because when the fruits and veggies are picked, they are immediately flash frozen instead of sitting on a shelf before they have to be shipped to stores or warehouses. If you have a chance to buy local from a farmers market, or farm stand, I highly encourage you to do that, too!
Blueberries are high in antioxidants, low in calories, and contain nutrients like iron, magnesium, zinc, calcium and vitamin k! Blueberries may be small, but they sure are an amazing superfood. Berries, in general, are lower on the glycemic index than other fruits, so they make a great choice vs higher sugar fruits.
These bars are gluten-free, dairy-free and full of all sorts of deliciousness! The lemon adds a nice tang and complements the blueberries perfectly! You could also serve this as a crumble instead of cutting into bars, and serve on top of dairy-free yogurt. Either way, Happy Summer! Enjoy!
Ingredients:
For the Crust:
2 cups almond flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
For the Filling:
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
Juice from 1 lemon
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp tapioca starch
1/2 tsp salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper.
For the crust:
In a medium bowl, mix together almond flour, coconut flour, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, lemon zest, salt, and baking soda until it forms a dough. Press 3/4 of the dough into the bottom of the parchment lined pan. Save the remaining dough for the crumble on top of the bars. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.
For the blueberry filling:
While the crust bakes, in a medium saucepan, add the berries, lemon juice, maple syrup, tapioca starch and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 5-7 minutes, or until blueberries cook down and the sauce starts to thicken.
Pour the blueberry mixture onto the crust. Crumble the remaining dough on top of the blueberry topping. Bake for an addiotnal 10-12 minutes, or until blueberries are bubbly and crumble is golden brown.
Let cool for 20-30 minutes. Slice into bars. Enjoy!
