Who doesn't love a juicy blueberry sandwiched between layers of greatness?
Everyone I'm assuming.
These bars are are creamy, crunchy and the perfect treat.
The month of June is breezing by and I feel I have not done my food blogger duty to present you with fun, Summer fruit dessert recipes.
That's changing today!
In fact yesterday after morning Vacation Bible School {which I'm in charge of craft}and sending all three kids off in different directions after lunch {girls to swim with friends, oldest boy to ride bikes with buddies} I got to work on this dessert.
I wanted to feature a juicy Summer berry!
Did you catch that part about June being almost over? How did this happen? Fourth of July is literally right around the corner and I feel like our Summer just started.
I've yet to get to a Saturday morning Farmer's Market {which pains me....}, I've yet to make my annual strawberry freezer jam and I still have not visited a pool.
Who am I?
I did sit my butt on the back deck last night after dinner and literally just SAT THERE. It was so nice. The weather was gorgeous, I did not have any gnats or mosquitos bothering me, my flowers looked beautiful and I had decided the laundry could wait.
Sometimes the best parts of Summer are just sitting back and doing nothing, you know? It was nice. Plus, I knew one of these bars were waiting for me in the fridge after dinner!
I had a TON of good blueberries in the freezer. I usually buy a few bags of the organic berries at ALDI each grocery trip mainly for smoothies, yet as you can see sometimes they also get thrown into desserts.
Fresh or frozen, it doesn't matter in this treat, use either! Frozen are just as good as fresh as most are frozen flash style right after picking. They are just as good.
I love a good crumbly bar, so I sandwiched these blueberries {plus, an incredible cheese, more on that in a bit} in between two soft crumbly layers of flour, oats, brown sugar, vanilla and butter.
As butter makes everything better.
Half of the mixture gets pressed on the bottom and the other half gets crumbled over the top making a pretty darn good sandwich to me! A fruit sandwich that is.
But let's get to the really good part, that middle blueberry layer. It is simply a can of sweetened condensed milk, fresh or frozen blueberries and 6.5 oz tub of Alouette Blueberry Vanilla spreadable cheese.
Yes, cheese!
This post is not sponsored by Alouette, I just finally got to try this cheese that everyone is talking about. I found it at ALDI for just $2.99 a tub {so naturally I picked up four of them}. I also got their Toasted Everything, Spinach and Artichoke and their Garlic and Herb. It sells at most national retailers, including Walmart, but if you still can't find it, simply replace it with your favorite sweet {preferably blueberry} flavored cream cheese.
My kids {and the husband} loved these bars! It really is the perfect Summer treat. Also great to bring to a family gathering or next week for the 4th of July.
If you give these a try be sure to tell me! Snap a photo and share with your friends. If you tag me {@sweetsavoryeats} I'll be sure to write you back and share the love. My food blog is a labor of love and my readers sharing my recipes is my greatest source of marketing.
I hope you are enjoying your Summer.
Give these delicious sweet bars a try!
Blueberry Cream Oatmeal Crumb Bars
Yield: 24
prep time: 10 Mcook time: 45 Mtotal time: 55 M
Sweet and juicy blueberries are layered in between a creamy sweet filling and a salty, crumbly oatmeal crust. A dessert bar that you will make all Summer long!
ingredients:
Crumb/Crust Layer
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 t baking powder
- 2 t vanilla extract
- 1/2 t salt
- 2 sticks butter, softened
Filling
- 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 6.5 oz Alouette Blueberry Vanilla spreadable cheese (or any blueberry flavored cream cheese)
- 2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, patted dry
instructions:
How to cook Blueberry Cream Oatmeal Crumb Bars
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Layer a 9x13 baking pan with foil, extending the edges to fold over the sides of the pan. This will serve as easy handles to remove from the pan later.
- In a large bowl combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder and vanilla. Using a pastry blender or fork cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Set aside 2 1/2 cups of this mixture for the top layer. Place the remaining into the bottom of the 9x13 pan, pressing flat. Bake this for 10 minutes.
- While the crust is baking in another bowl mix together the filling. Using a whisk combine the sweetened condensed milk and blueberry vanilla cheese until smooth.
- Remove the crust from the oven. Layer on the blueberries, then pour the filling mixure over the blueberries. Finally top with the remaining crumb topping.
- Bake for another 35 minutes.
- Allow to cool for 1 hour, then place in the fridge for 2-4 hours.
- Cut the bars into 24 squares and keep stored in the fridge. The bars will cut much better when chilled.
- The bars will stay fresh in the fridge for up to one week.
NOTES:
I used Alouette Blueberry Vanilla spreadable cheese, which is found in all major grocery stores, including ALDI, where I found mine. If you cannot find this type of cheese simply replace it with your favorite flavored brand cream cheese.
Calories
181.61
181.61
Fat (grams)
8.72
8.72
Sat. Fat (grams)
5.23
5.23
Carbs (grams)
23.92
23.92
Fiber (grams)
1.45
1.45
Net carbs
22.48
22.48
Sugar (grams)
10.44
10.44
Protein (grams)
2.41
2.41
Sodium (milligrams)
139.48
139.48
Cholesterol (grams)
21.85
21.85
