These blackberry pie bars are a peak summer berry dessert! If you love fruit crisps with crumbly oat topping, you’ll love these bars. They feature a delicious sweet/tart homemade blackberry filling sandwiched between two layers of oat crumble crust.
BLACKBERRY PIE BARS WITH OAT CRUMBLE CRUST
![blackberry pie bars with oat crumble crust](https://i0.wp.com/www.peanutbutterrunner.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/6.10blackberries12.jpg?resize=1000%2C1153&ssl=1)
Berry season is here and my fridge has been stocked with blackberries, raspberries and blueberries for a few weeks now. I enjoy eating berries by the handful, sprinkling them on top of yogurt parfaits and incorporating them into recipes. What I really love is baking with them! I recently found myself with a surplus of blackberries that weren’t quite as sweet as I prefer for snacking so it was the perfect opportunity to whip up a berry-themed dessert.
Fruit crisps are one of my favorite summer desserts but I got an idea to turn the crisp into a more sturdy bar and ended up with these blackberry bars that are very pie-esque.
![strainer with blackberries and raspberries](https://i0.wp.com/www.peanutbutterrunner.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/6.10blackberries11.jpg?resize=1000%2C1195&ssl=1)
I decided to throw a few raspberries into the mix because I also had quite a few of them on hand. Recipes like this are so versatile so feel free to use straight blackberries in this recipe or a mix of blackberries, raspberries and blueberries.
![blackberry filling](https://i0.wp.com/www.peanutbutterrunner.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/6.10blackberries10.jpg?resize=1000%2C1000&ssl=1)
There are two steps to this recipe.
- Making the blackberry filling.
- Making the oat crumble crust.
![blackberry filling](https://i0.wp.com/www.peanutbutterrunner.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/6.10blackberry9.jpg?resize=1000%2C1178&ssl=1)
For the berry filling, I simmered the berries with sugar and lemon zest until they reached a jammy consistency.
![oat crumble crust](https://i0.wp.com/www.peanutbutterrunner.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/6.10blackberry8.jpg?resize=1000%2C1325&ssl=1)
While the berry filling was simmering, I pre-baked the bottom crust layer of my bars for a few minutes in a square baking dish lined with parchment. This ensures that your bottom crust is crumbly and set and not doughy or underbaked.
![blackberry bars](https://i0.wp.com/www.peanutbutterrunner.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/6.10blackberry7.jpg?resize=1000%2C1000&ssl=1)
Here’s the blackberry filling layered on top of the bottom crust layer.
![blackberry bars with oat crumble crust](https://i0.wp.com/www.peanutbutterrunner.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/6.10blackberry6.jpg?resize=1000%2C1138&ssl=1)
And the final layer of crumbled dough on top.
![blackberry bars with oat crumble crust](https://i0.wp.com/www.peanutbutterrunner.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/6.10blackberry5.jpg?resize=1000%2C1131&ssl=1)
All baked up fresh out of the oven!
![oatmeal blackberry bars](https://i0.wp.com/www.peanutbutterrunner.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/6.10blackberry3.jpg?resize=1000%2C1215&ssl=1)
I recommend letting the blackberry pie bars cool for a good bit before lifting the parchment out of the pan. If they’re still hot they will be gooey and spread all over the place.
![blackberry bars](https://i0.wp.com/www.peanutbutterrunner.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/6.10blackberry14.jpg?resize=1000%2C1333&ssl=1)
If you really want a clean cut on them, I would let them cool completely, refrigerate them and then cut.
![blackberry pie bars with ice cream](https://i0.wp.com/www.peanutbutterrunner.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/6.10blackberry1.jpg?resize=1000%2C1000&ssl=1)
Whether you snack on these blackberry pie bars cold out of the fridge or warmed up with a scoop of ice cream, they are a delicious treat!
![blackberry pie bars with oat crumble crust](https://i0.wp.com/www.peanutbutterrunner.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/6.10blackberry13.jpg?resize=1000%2C1000&ssl=1)
BLACKBERRY PIE BARS WITH OAT CRUMBLE CRUST RECIPE
Print![](https://i0.wp.com/www.peanutbutterrunner.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/6.10blackberries12.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
Blackberry Pie Bars with Oat Crumble Crust
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 12 bars 1x
Description
If you love fruit crisps with crumbly oat topping, you’ll love these blackberry pie bars. They feature a delicious sweet/tart homemade blackberry filling sandwiched between two layers of oat crumble crust.
Ingredients
FOR THE BLACKBERRY FILLING
20 ounces blackberries or mixed berries
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons corn starch
FOR THE OAT CRUMBLE CRUST
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temp
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 large egg, room temp
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
FOR THE BLACKBERRY FILLING
- Place the blackberries, sugar, water, lemon zest and corn starch in a medium pan and bring to a simmer.
- Mash the berries with a spatula as they cook to help them break down.
- Stir frequently and continue to cook until the mixture has thickened in texture and coats the back of a wooden spoon/spatula.
- Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
FOR THE OAT CRUMBLE CRUST
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line an 8×8 glass pan with parchment paper.
- In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a handheld mixer), cream together butter and sugars for 2 minutes on medium high heat, until lightened in color and fluffy.
- Reduce mixer speed and add egg and vanilla. Scrape down sides of bowl if needed.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
- Keeping mixer on low speed, mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients.
- Place half of batter into prepared pan and spread to edges. Pre-bake bottom crust for about 15 minutes until it’s set and let cool for a few minutes.
- Spoon blackberry filling over pre-baked crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the top.
- Spoon blackberry filling over cooled crust and crumble reserved dough over filling.
- Bake bars for another 30 minutes, or until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbling.
- Cool completely before lifting parchment out of the pan and cutting. To make cutting even easier, refrigerate the cooled bars before cutting.
- Store bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Feel free to use a mix of whatever berries you have on hand.
These blackberry pie bars are delicious eaten cold out of the fridge or warmed up with vanilla ice cream!
![blackberry pie bars with oat crust](https://i0.wp.com/www.peanutbutterrunner.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/6.10blackberrypin.jpg?resize=1000%2C1500&ssl=1)
These look SO yummy! My niece loves blackberries so I think I’ll make these for her…the rest of the family will benefit (haha). My local CSA farm has Pick Your Own berries so it would be a treat to be able to get the blackberries fresh from the farm.