Fresh blueberries glow between two layers of the most buttery butter you’ve ever tasted! These bars are so easy to assemble; the recipe is foolproof. They’re tough enough to eat with your hands, but they’re also amazingly warm and topped with a scoop of ice cream!
Ingredients
2 cups (4 sticks) of butter, softened
1 and 1/4 cups of granulated sugar
1/3 cup of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of vanilla
4 cups of flour of all kinds, with spoon and leveled.
1 and 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt
1/2 cup nuts, chopped
3 cups fresh blueberries* (1 12-ounce bag)
Instructions
Prepare a 9×13 inch mold with non-stick spray or grease it with butter. It is even easier if you cover the mold with parchment paper, that way you can lift the bars directly from the mold. No greasing is required. You can also line it with aluminum foil, but be sure to grease it.
In a large bowl or a stand mixer, add 2 cups of soft butter. Yes, a whole pound. I didn’t call this a health bar, it’s butter bread. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Add 1 and 1/4 cups of sugar and 1/3 cup of brown sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. The sugar should be well incorporated into the butter, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Add 1 tablespoon vanilla and 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, and blend well.
Spoon in the flour and level off 1 cup at a time, whisking after each mix until the flour is mostly but not completely incorporated. You will probably have to switch to hand-stirting towards the end. It will feel like too much flour, but it isn’t! Once you have the fourth cup, whisk until all the white stripes disappear, then stop. Don’t mix it up too much.
Add 2/3 of the dough to the prepared 9×13 inch pan. Press the mixture evenly into the mold and one inch from the sides. Usually I wet my hands with a little water so they don’t stick too much to the dough.
Wash the blueberries and pick up any stems or wrinkled berries. Dry them with paper towels or leave them in the strainer for a while.
Put all the blueberries in the container and spread them out to the edges.
Add 1/2 cup of chopped nuts to the remaining third of the dough that is still in the bowl. Beat the walnuts to mix well.
Use your hands to take medium pieces of dough and drop them on the blueberries. I like quarter-sized pieces of dough, with some slightly larger or smaller ones. See the pictures.
Once all the dough is in the pan, refrigerate the pan for about 20 minutes. Cold bread that is put in a hot oven is the best texture.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
When the loaves have cooled, bake in the oven preheated to 350 for about 42-45 minutes. (it will take less time in a metal pan). You’ll know they’re done when the edges are browned and the top of the loaf is crumbled too. Don’t over-bake!
Allow to cool at least 10-20 minutes before cutting into loaves and serving. I like them to be served hot or at room temperature – and a scoop of ice cream or a drizzle of caramel doesn’t hurt either! You can also serve it with the hot vanilla butter sauce that goes with this blueberry pie with hot vanilla butter sauce. (You would probably only need to make a half recipe).
Recipe Notes
*You can make this recipe with frozen blueberries. Do not defrost first. Cranberries are only available for a short season, so I always buy extra and freeze them myself!
This recipe is easy to cut in half. Bake in an 8×8 or 9×9 inch square pan. The baking time will be quite similar, so check it out just in case.