Blueberry Cobbler Bars

Now if you're like me, you're staring at the blueberry cobbler bar and thinking: Well why not just make blueberry cobbler? Making it into a bar, though cute, seems a bit frivolous. Just make the darn cobbler! .....by the way, I love cobbler. I keep frozen fruit and frozen cobbler topping in my freezer. Yes, I'm serious. It's this recipe of my Aunt Kathy's right there. Yep. I make the topping, and while it's all happy and crumbly and gooey and yummy I throw it into an airtight freezing container and store it. Cobbler with just the baking time? Yes please! .........I'm so lazy...or a genius. Some days that line is pretty thin.

While walking that line I came up with an idea to make this even simpler. Now it's cobbler with just 30 seconds in the microwave!  My reasoning? It's TOO DARN HOT to heat up my oven just to make a single serving of cobbler! So, I gave this some thought, and decided freezing a cooked cobbler bar was the perfect solution, all the cobbler, none of the heat, and none of the mess. Do not underestimate the amount of effort a lazy person will put into maintaining their laziness. This is a skill set I am very excited to develop further. I could call it "time management" or "plan ahead desserts" or even "food storage" or "thrift" but no no. This is laziness. Let's not dress it up.

So, whether you eat them fresh, or are a lazy dessertaholic like me who freezes them, this cobbler bar is a lovely treat. If you have a beloved cobbler recipe the idea is simple: make twice of much cobbler topping, put half of that on the bottoms, press it down, bake it a bit, and throw on top of that your regular cobbler recipe, then divide and devour. Simple right? Want to use my recipe instead? It's right there waiting for you. Cheers and many happy cobbler bars to you all!

Blueberry Cobbler Bars

1 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. cinnamon, nutmeg, anise, or combination thereof
1 cup cold unsalted butter
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 inch pan.

In a stand mixer, stir together the brown sugar, flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and spices. Add butter and egg and mix on a medium speed until the dough becomes crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.

Bake for roughly five minutes. Remove the pan and allow to cool slightly.

In another bowl, stir together the white sugar and cornstarch. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the semi baked crust. Crumble remaining cobbler dough over top.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Allow to cool slightly before cutting into squares. 

** To freeze the bars, allow them to cool completely. Place each bar in an individual freezer bag. Using a straw, suck out the excess air to create a somewhat vacuum packed seal. Put the bagged bars into a suitable freezing container. When read to eat, simply reheat in the microwave.