ALMOND LEMON BLUEBERRY PIE BARS

Yesterday, I just woke up and noticed that I'm really really sick. I had headache, my throat was sore and I had a very feverish feeling. So, I have a flu now... Not a suprise, because almost everyone have flu now. Usually, I'm actually rarely sick but this time I got this disgusting disease. I hate being sick... But then I started to do some homework, clean my own room, read blogs and things that I usually don't have time to do. For example I baked homemade pizza, which was amaizing?! I have to share that recipe for you guys soon! But later, I wanted to bake some sweet and delicious thing.. So I found this awesome recipe from Minimalist Baker (what a suprise?). I was very sceptical, will this actually taste good and stay together? But yeah, taste: really good and yeah it stayed together. 

What a perfect delicious. Almond lemon blueberry pie bar.


In any case, i decited to share this recipe with you. If there is some blueberry fans or people who like sweet this is right place for you now. My favourite part of this sweet pastry was that beautiful filling and almonds that bring some crunchiness. I will tell this recipe quickly and in summary, so if you want to see some details you can find the whole recipe from here.  

Let's get started...

ALMOND LEMON BLUEBERRY PIE BARS 


INGREDIENTS

CRUST

• 1 stick (1/2 cup | 112 g) vegan butter, softened
• 1/3 cup (63 g) coconut sugar or organic cane sugar
• 1 1/4 (170 g) cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• pinch salt
• 2 Tbsp (30 ml) plant-based milk

FILLING

• 4 cups (592 g) fresh blueberries (or other mixed berries, e.g. strawberries, blackberries, raspberries)
• 1/4 cup (55 g) coconut sugar (or organic cane or brown sugar)
• 1/4 cup (34 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 small lemon, zested + juiced (~2 Tbsp juice | 30 ml)
• optional: 1 Tbsp vegan butter, cut into small pieces
• optional: 1 Tbsp (12 g) chia seeds
• 1/3 cup (30 g) raw slivered almonds

GLAZE optional

• 1 cup (112 g) organic icing/powdered sugar
• 1-2 Tbsp (15-30 ml) plant-based milk

1. Take a baking dish, add a bit of non-stick spray or vegan butter to ease serving.

2. Mix crust's vegan butter and coconut sugar with beater, when it's light and fluffy in texture. 

3. Add flour and salt and mix until combined - it should be crumbly. Add milk and mix.

4. Put dough to baking dish and dust the surface with flour. Use your hands to press the dough into the dish until flat and uniform.

5. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes, then preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C). Bake about 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown on edges and light golden brown in the center. Let cool, but leave the oven on.

6. Filling. Add all filling ingredients except almonds to a small saucepan over medium heat. Vegan butter and chia seeds are optional (to add flavor, richness, and thickness). Cook, stirring/mashing the berries, for about 6-8 minutes or until the filling is bubbly and resembles pourable blueberry jam.

7. Remove from heat and pour over the baked crust. Top with slivered almonds and bake for another 24-28 minutes, or until filling is bubbly along the edges and almonds are slightly golden brown.
(8. Glaze is optional, mix ingredients together and spread it with the edge of the spoon over the pastry.)

Let it cool, eat.