Secret Recipe Club: soft bite-sized cake bars topped with a smear of lemon curd, then packed with blueberries and peaches, and finished with a crumb topping.
Clearly I was in a fruit bar mood when I chose this recipe. No not the kind that serves drinks where singles mingle. I'm talking food here. Dessert or breakfast bars. I think I chose my Secret Recipe Club recipe the same day I signed up a recipe for #SundaySupper, when I chose to make Apple Pie Bars. Which is all to try to explain why I haven't made any bars in about 2 years, and now I've posted two on back-to-back days.
But they're very different from each other. Yesterday's was more of a traditional fruit bar with 3 distinct layers – bottom crust, fruit filling, and crumble topping. Today's little Blueberry Lemon Bars are more like a sponge cake covered with berries and then finished with a crumb topping. But both can be eaten while walking out the door in the morning. And both are addictive.
Yes, it's Secret Recipe Club time again. For the uninitiated, we're a group of around 100 food bloggers, separated into four smaller blogging groups. Every month, we’re each assigned a blog in our group to look through. We try a few recipes and chose one to post about. But all month long, we keep our assignment a secret until ‘reveal day’. It’s been a lot of fun – and I’ve found some great new blogs to follow and new recipes to add to my rotation.
This month I was assigned a terrific blog I'd already been visiting – Mom's Test Kitchen, written by Jaime. Jaime is mom to an adorable toddler (Princess P) and originally started her blog as a way to organize the stacks of recipe clippings she wanted to make. I totally understand that. My problem – the recipe piles have only gotten bigger.
Jaime's site is full of wonderful recipes I want to try, and I'm definitely making her Caprese, Florentine Quiche soon, but as we've already established, I was in a bar mood. So I chose her Blueberry Lemon Bars instead and have zero regrets. In fact, I've made them twice now because they were that good.
I did make a few little changes that doesn't change the soul of the dessert. I substituted coconut sugar for some of the powdered sugar Jaime's recipe called for, and switched out half of the butter for coconut oil. I ran out of lemons for the lemon zest, but I had some lemon curd on hand, so I smeared a slick of lemon curd over the batter before adding the berries and crumble topping. Lastly, I had a peach I needed to use, so it joined the blueberries. These babies were melt-in-your-mouth perfect little dessert bites as I said a sad farewell to summer.
Blueberry-Lemon Bars (with Coconut)
Ingredients
Bars
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 4 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 3 Tbsp lemon curd
- 1 1/2 cups blueberries
- 1 peach pitted, peeled, and sliced
Crumb Topping
- 6 Tbsp room-temperature butter
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
Bars
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan with some butter, and line the bottom with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides. Butter the parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk 3/4 cup of the flour with the baking powder and salt. Using a standing mixer, beat the butter and coconut oil together until fluffy with the paddle attachment, about 3 - 5 minutes. Add the sugars and the vanilla extract, and continue to beat until completely incorporated into the butter.
- Add one egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold in the dry ingredients all at once using a spatula. Work the batter only until the flour in completely mixed into the batter.
- Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and lightly top with the lemon curd. Sprinkle with the blueberries and peach slivers. Finish with the Crumb Topping (recipe below).
- Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in pan for 15 minutes and pull out using the paper overhang. Cool completely and cut into squares.
Crumb Topping
- Melt the butter in the microwave oven, using a small microwave-safe bowl, Whisk in the coconut sugar, flour, and salt until large moist crumbs form.
Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious says
Lyrical!
Lauren Everson says
Fruit bars are so fun! I have a blueberry bar recipe on my blog that was one of my early posts and it’s still my most popular post. I think you hit a gold mine here. Happy reveal day!
Wendy, A Day in the Life on the Farm says
I love grab as you run out the door breakfasts. I always think of muffins but bars are a great idea.
Emily @ Life on Food says
Bars are always a good treat. These blueberry lemon ones look fantastic. I could take some of these any day.
Kim (Feed Me, Seymour) says
I love the coconut! I’ve seen lots of blueberry lemon flavors and they are always delicious. But the coconut in this is really doing it for me!
Tara says
Such a perfect end to summer. I have never made fruit bars. Definitely need to change that.
Rebekah @ Making Miracles says
Mmmm… those look fantastic!! Great pick for reveal day! 🙂
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie says
Blueberry lemon and coconut all in one bar. I approve! Great pick.
SallyBR says
You and I had similar choices, blueberries in delicious forms!
Have a great Reveal Day!
Jess @ Flying on Jess Fuel says
These look amazing. Blueberry coffee cake is one of my favorite breakfast indulgences… I love the addition of lemon and coconut!!
Sarah | Curious Cuisiniere says
These look delicious! Great pic!
Lynn @ Turnips 2 Tangerines says
One of my favorite flavor combo’s Lemon and Blueberry~ Lynn @ Turnips 2 Tangerines
cheri says
Hi Susan, what a great fruit bar, I use coconut oil all the time but never coconut sugar, will have to try it.
lapadia says
Wonderful recipe, Susan. Love the coconut sugar usage!
apuginthekitchen says
You are killing me with the delicious fruit bars, first apple now blueberry lemon, Susan they are wonderful. What a great treat.
Norma Chang says
Love your coconut oil substitute, does it change the texture of the finished product? I imagine it would make the bars more moist.
Melissa says
This sounds like a perfect combination of flavors. These may be dessert, but I’d definitely eat them for breakfast, too! Awesome pick this month 🙂
Oui, Chef says
Lemon and blueberries are so good together, bet these are awesome!
April says
Blueberries and lemon just go together in baked goods. These look delicious, and I can totally see myself popping 2 or 3 or even 4 of these in my mouth for breakfast, along with my morning coffee.
Choc Chip Uru says
These lemon bars look delicious, I really like the flavour combo! Perfect for uni 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
nicole @ I am a Honey Bee says
Fantastic pic.
I’ve never used coconut sugar, sounds pretty cool to use that in these bars.
Karen @ Karen's Kitchen Stories says
I love Jamie’s blog! These sound amazing!
Shikha @ Shikha la mode says
Blueberry and coconut are a great combination!
laurasmess says
Blueberry and lemon is such a winning combination, I love it – whether it be in ice cream, fruit bars like these or (my favourite) in an oaty fruit crumble! Yum. Yours look perfect Susan! x
Jaime @ Mom's Test Kitchen says
You made the bars look so good! And I love that you added the lemon curd & the coconut! Now I want to try your version! 🙂
Michelle @ The Complete Savorist says
What a fun group to be part of. These look so delicious.
The Food Hunter says
Thy look yummy
Diane {Created by Diane} says
I just love lemon and blueberry together and WOW coconut…these must be fabulous!!!
Yankee Kitchen Ninja (Julianne) says
Awesome! And I love that they’re made with coconut oil. And, coincidentally, I was just visiting Jamie’s blog before I visited yours!
Jamie | My Baking Addiction says
I adore the lemon-blueberry combo and these bars look absolutely delicious.
Susan says
Blueberry and lemon are my favorite flavors and I love the addition of the lemon curd. Definitely a little different in a traditional cake-esque bar. Keep on making them Susan, they look great.