Blueberry Lemon Shortbread Bars

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5 from 4 votes

Blueberry Lemon Shortbread Bars

These Blueberry Lemon Shortbread Bars have a flaky crust, plus the sweet taste of fresh blueberries.

Prep Time15

Total Bake Time55

Making Filling and Chill2 45

Total Time3 55

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Difficulty: Medium

Servings: bars

Calories: 262kcal

Ingredients

Home Made Blueberry Filling

4 cups (592 g) Fresh Blueberries
½ cup (100 g) Sugar white
2 Tablespoon (2 Tablespoon) Corn starch
1 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon) Lemon juice
½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Vanilla Extract
½ Tablespoon (0.5 Tablespoon) Butter unsalted

Shortbread

1 cup (227 g) Butter unsalted cold and cubed
¾ cup (150 g) Sugar white
2 ½ cups (312.5 g) All-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon) Lemon zest packed
⅛ teaspoon (0.13 teaspoon) Ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Kosher Salt

Instructions

Home Made Blueberry Filling

Rinse and clean the blueberries and add 3 cups to a saucepan - reserve 1 cup of the blueberries for later. Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to a bowl and set it aside.
Add the sugar to the saucepan with the blueberries and heat on a medium setting. Bring the sugar and blueberries to a low boil. You want the blueberries to break down and get mushy. I use a wooden spoon to stir and keep pressing the blueberries against the side of the saucepan to help the blueberries break apart. Continue to stir for about 8 minutes; it will start to thicken slightly.
Add the 2 tablespoons of corn starch to the 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and mix. If you need more liquid, take a spoonful of the blueberry mixture from the saucepan to finish mixing the corn starch, then add the corn starch mixture to the saucepan. If it is not already, you will need to have this come to a boil and continuously stir for at least 2 to 3 minutes or until the mixture has thickened.
Take the pan off the heat and add the vanilla extract and the butter to the pan. Stir until the butter has melted. Move the blueberry filling to a bowl and let it cool for a few minutes. Then add the 1 cup of reserved blueberries to the cooked blueberries and mix. After a few minutes, transfer to a glass container with a lid and refrigerate if making the shortbread the next day.

Blueberry Lemon Shortbread Bars

Add the flour, sugar, lemon zest, cinnamon, salt, and the cold butter cubed. I start with a few long pulses to get the butter broken up. Then about 8-10 short pulses to bring the ingredients together. You want it in small pieces. You can always break up any big pieces into smaller ones if needed.
Butter a 9 X 9 pan. Take a long piece of parchment paper and place it along the bottom and the opposite sides. Make sure it is long enough to fold over the tops of both sides of the pan. You can use these as handles to lift the completed bars out of the pan. (see image above) Take half of the shortbread dough and place it on top of the parchment paper lining the bottom. Spread the pieces around the bottom and press down to spread and cover the bottom.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C). Bake for 13-15 minutes. You want a light-colored bake. It will be a little soft, but that is perfect; it will be baked again. Let it cool for 10 minutes or until you can handle the pan with your hands.
Spread the blueberry filling evenly onto the partially baked bottom crust. Now, dot the remaining shortbread dough pieces around the top of the blueberry filling. I press the pieces down a little just so that all the pieces are touching the blueberry filling. Bake at 350°F (175°C or 180°C) for 35-40 minutes. I start to check at 35 minutes. The top should be a nice golden color.
Cool completely in the pan for at least 2 hours. You can hurry the cooling by placing the pan in the refrigerator until chilled. Pull the shortbread out of the pan by the parchment paper handles before cutting. I cut four rows down and four across, but you can make these any size you like. To make them even prettier, I sprinkle powdered sugar on top before serving.

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