Blackberry Crumb Bars

Crumb bars absolutely brimming with fresh blackberries. A luscious golden brown base topped with a tender, lightly browned crumble. These blackberry crumb bars are one of our top summertime favorite desserts.

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Summer wouldn’t be the same if we didn’t pick blackberries. They are prolific in the Pacific Northwest (and pretty much everywhere along the Pacific Coast and East Coast), growing all over the place – sides of roads, under highways, in wet areas, dry areas, outside commercial buildings, in our backyards… They’re very invasive, we have a love/hate relationship with blackberries. Birds love them too, so they’ll eat the berries and pass along the seeds miles from where they ate them furthering the spread of these thorny, wild, deeply purple sweet berries.

For as long as I can remember our family would always go out to pick berries during the summer. When we lived further south, we would frequent Remlinger Farms in Carnation, Washington – a must stop if ever in the area. U-Pick berries as far as the eyes could see, which for us as tiny toddlers, these berries seemed to cover the entire earth. We’d pick our berries, ride the train, soak up the sun, and enjoy family time. It was wonderful and really special.

As we grew older and grew into teenagers, even as rebellious and resistant as we were to “family time,” picking berries was always something we’d happily do. What was better was that we wouldn’t even have to go into public to do it. So many days and years we spent in Shelter Bay at my grandparents house, gathering with family in this big beautiful refuge from normal life, it was sanctuary. The sprawling garden was loaded with beautiful flowers, tall trees, and so much bamboo. There was a dirt pathway lined with stones that led us down to the garden below, more wild and overgrown, but loaded with blackberry bushes. We’d head down there with two big bowls, pick berries until our hands were stained purple and our arms were covered in scratches from the thorns. Grandma would make us blackberry pie.

I picked blackberries on my own this year. What a weird feeling. So many years of picking with family. So many years of picking with my mom. We lost my grandma earlier this year and my mom now lives far away from me, everything is different and not really in a good way. I missed picking blackberries with my mom this year. Once my fiancé and I moved back to Washington and in with my grandma and my mom, my mom and I would pick mounds of blackberries every summer. We’d set our bowls on the ground, pick berries that were fat, juicy, and just dripping off the bush with both hands. We’d talk and laugh as we’d step further and further into these sharp thorny bushes not caring how deep they’d cut us – we had to get the biggest berries we saw, even if that meant bleeding for it.

These blackberry crumb bars signify summer, familial love, and new love. The signify the height of summer and life itself; beautiful and delicious but sharp and painful.

Shopping List:

Recipe Notes:

Frozen vs Fresh Blackberries:

Frozen blackberries are a great replacement. Thaw blackberries and drain the juice prior to mixing in sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch. After sitting for a few minutes while you prepare the crust and crumb, drain excess liquid again.

Why Use Cold & Salted Butter:

Cold butter helps to create a very crumbly, flaky crust. Cut butter into ¼ cubes, add to flour mixture, and pulse until about pea sized. This will help evenly distribute the butter for a great crust and crumbly topping.

I know people think I’m crazy for doing this but it’s how I’ve done it forever, maybe I am a little crazy and I’m okay with that. Ya know the old adage, don’t fix what’s not broken? Well that’s this. Since I use Kosher Salt and recommend it in my recipes, using salted butter evens out/balances the salt level I’m looking for in my cooking and baking. You’re more than welcome to use unsalted butter if you prefer, or if it’s all you have. Just know you will need to add more kosher salt to the recipe – starting with ½ teaspoon or so. Or use unsalted butter and regular iodized table salt; using about ½ teaspoon or so of table salt. See notes below on the difference.

Why Use Kosher Salt:

We made the swap to kosher salt a long time ago and I’m so glad we did! It’s so much more versatile, cleaner and less salty tasting, no additives, larger flaked, and dissolves evenly into dishes – baked or cooked. Kosher salt weighs less than regular table salt, so a 1:1 ratio conversion will not work, you’ll need more kosher salt than you would table salt.

Step by Step Instructions:

Other Fruity Treats:

Blood Orange Cardamom Cake: Super soft & tender orange cardamom cake with a sweet, lightly crunchy caramelized crust where the cake pan meets candied blood oranges. This is a show stopper.

Caramel Apple Streusel Cheesecake: Luscious cinnamon-vanilla cheesecake, tender spiced apples, crunchy streusel topping, and apple cider caramel make this fall dessert sexy, messy, creamy, and crunchy. 

Apple Filled Wontons: Crispy wonton wrappers filled with fall spiced apple cider fruit spread then tossed in cinnamon-cardamom sugar. An easy, quick, and incredibly delicious snack.

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