Cooking with Toti
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Blueberry Crumble Bars
Thick, bakery-style bars with homemade blueberry jam and buttery oat crumble.
Time
1 hr
Made with homemade blueberry jam, coconut sugar, and a buttery oat crumble. Thick, crumbly, and packed with blueberry flavor — even better the next day.
Instructions
Blueberry Jam
- 1
Add blueberries, sugar, and lemon juice to a saucepan.
- 2
Cook over medium heat until berries soften and release juices.
- 3
Stir in cornstarch and cook, stirring frequently, until thick and jam-like.
- 4
Remove from heat and cool slightly.
Crumble
- 1
In a large bowl, combine melted butter, flour, oats, granulated sugar, coconut sugar, and salt.
- 2
Mix until a crumbly mixture forms.
- 3
Measure out 1 cup of crumble and set aside for the topping.
Assemble & Bake
- 1
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a standard loaf pan with parchment.
- 2
Press the remaining crumble firmly into the bottom of the pan to form the crust.
- 3
Spread the blueberry jam evenly over the crust.
- 4
Sprinkle the reserved 1 cup of crumble over the top.
- 5
Bake 30–35 minutes, until the topping is lightly golden and the filling is bubbling around the edges.
- 6
Cool completely before slicing.
Toti’s Tips
- ✓If you're using frozen blueberries, expect them to release more liquid as they cook, so let the jam simmer down longer until it's thick and jam-like before assembling — a watery filling will make the bars soggy.
- ✓Fresh blueberries release less liquid, so if the jam seems too thick and paste-like, add a small splash of water while it cooks to loosen it back up.
- ✓Coconut sugar stands in for brown sugar here and brings its own caramel-like depth, so don't expect it to taste identical — it's a flavor swap, not just a color one.
- ✓Press the bottom crumble layer in firmly before adding the jam. A loosely packed crust won't hold together once sliced and tends to crumble apart instead of forming a base.
- ✓Bake until the topping is lightly golden and you see the filling bubbling at the edges — that bubbling is the sign the jam has set enough to firm up as it cools.
- ✓Let the bars cool completely before slicing. Warm jam filling is still loose and will ooze out if cut too soon; cooling lets it set into a sliceable texture.
- ✓These bars actually taste better the next day, once the crumble has had time to soften slightly and the jam flavor settles into the crust.
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