Blackberry Pie Bars

Fruit!  Summer!  Exclamation Points!

I've realized that I have a tendency to fall back on chocolate, peanut butter or caramel recipes.  Or Rice Krispies (duh).  It's mostly because those are my favorite flavors but maybe it's also because I find those things easy to work with.  They're sorta fool proof.  Plus I can always have those ingredients in my house.

And in my ongoing effort to avoid making a real pie at all costs because they inexplicably frighten me, I decided to try these "pie bars." Holy moly (moley?).  Was I ever pleased.

They seem pretty assuming because there's really no special ingredients here but everything is so well balanced.  The crust is basically a dream crust.  It's the perfect buttery sweetness to balance some tart blackberries suspended in an impossibly moist batter.  And Ryan Gosling makes it for you.  Oh wait, that's just my dreams.  And I feel like I had this assembled and in the oven in record time with almost no clean up.  Dream dessert y'all.

Here's the recipe! 

Blackberry Pie Bars

Ingredients:

Crust

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

pinch of salt

zest of half a lemon

12 tablespoons butter, cold and cut into cubes 

Filling:

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup plain greek yogurt (or sour cream)

6 tablespoons flour

pinch of salt 

juice of half a lemon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

16 oz fresh blackberries (or frozen, thawed and drained of excess juice)

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray a 9x9 inch pan with cooking spray.  Set aside.  

2.  In a food processor, combine flour, salt, sugar and lemon zest Pulse a few times to blend.  Add butter to dry ingredients.  Process in short pulses until the mixture looks crumbly and it holds together if you pinch it between your fingers.  

3.  Reserve 3/4 of the mixture for topping.  Add the rest to your prepared pan and press firmly to make an even layer along the bottom of the pan.  Bake 12-15 minutes until lightly golden.  Allow to cool 15 minutes before assembling with filling.  

4.  To make the filling, add eggs, sugar, greek yogurt, flour, salt, lemon juice and vanilla to a medium bowl.  Whisk to combine until smooth.  Add the blackberries and gently stir to combine.  Spread the filling onto the prepared crust.  Crumble reserved topping over the filling.  

5.  Bake about 45 minutes, until the top is just browning and bars are barely set.  Allow to cool completely and chill before slicing.  

Enjoy!

Recipe from Annie's Eats