Blackberry Pie Bars are a little slice of heaven ~ flaky pastry, juicy jewel-toned filling, and a sweet glaze that ties it all together. They’re easy to make, easy to share, and just as good with frozen berries or jam when fresh ones are out of season.
Give me a blackberry pie bar over over a slice of pie any day
They’re so much more user friendly. You can pick these bars up with your hands, tote them around with you, bring ’em on a driving trip, to work, on a plane…what pie can do all that? And blackberry pie bars are just as flaky, just as fruity and juicy as any pie. Plus they’ve got that sweet glaze layered over top ~ pie bar perfection!
This is the perfect recipe for a pie-crust-a-phobe (like me!)
- I used one of my favorite pastry doughs for these blackberry pie bars. It’s the dough I used in my Apricot Pie Recipe.
- This dough is easy to roll and very forgiving. It’s super flaky, with a really lovely softness to it.
- It’s made with mostly butter and a little shortening which I think makes the difference. It bakes up firm enough so that you can eat these bars by hand, but still quite tender when you bit into it.
don’t chase perfection with this recipe
If your dough cracks, just push it back together, and if it sticks, dust with flour. I like to roll it right on the parchment paper it will bake on, so there’s no tricky transfer to deal with, just slide the dough and paper right onto a baking sheet.
This kind of freeform slab pie doesn’t look like much in its whole form, it’s a little ragged, I admit. But just trim the ends a bit before slicing and no one will be the wiser.
a quick blackberry filling for pie bars
These blackberry pie bars would be nothing without the fresh blackberry filling. I made a quick jammy filling by cooking down the berries on the stove with some sugar, lemon juice and thickener. Note: you can use a good blackberry jam or frozen berries to make your filling off season.
- Put rinsed berries in a saucepan, along with sugar, thickener, and lemon juice. Stir to combine.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar and allow the berries to release their juices.
- Mash the berries with a potato masher or fork and continue to cook for about 8 minutes, or until the consistency of a thin jam.
- Chill. It will thicken as it cools.
my favorite thickener for fruit fillings
For the thickener I’ve recently discovered Instant Clearjel, which is a supercharged thickener for pies and fruit fillings. It works like cornstarch, but so much better, and it gives you an added insurance that your fillings won’t be too thin or runny. In this case you definitely want to avoid a dribbly filling!
blackberries are healthy, delicious, and stunning!
Blackberries go through a beautiful color transformation when they’re cooked with lemon juice and sugar, the deep blueish purple becomes a brilliant magenta. It’s absolutely gorgeous oozing out of the layers of pastry dough. Like black raspberries, these berries are unsung superfoods, bursting with vitamins and cancer fighting antioxidants.
Please try these blackberry pie bars, you won’t be disappointed
The flakey pastry, the brilliant filling, and the glaze all make this one of my new favorite desserts on the blog. I’ll be reinventing it many times going forward, and I’m definitely doing an apple version for you later this year, so keep an eye out for that.
freeze summer berries so you can make this later in the year
- Rinse and dry your berries gently (except for blueberries, which don’t need washing unless dirty).
- Remove stems/pits if needed (like with strawberries or cherries).
- Spread in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet—don’t let them touch!
- Freeze until solid, about 1–2 hours.
- Transfer to freezer bags or containers and label with the date.
- Use within 6–8 months for best flavor and texture.
Blackberry Pie Bars
Ingredients
pie crust
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for rolling
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut in pieces
- 1/4 cup shortening (I used butter flavor Crisco)
- 1/4 cup ice water
egg wash
- 1 egg yolk mixed with 2 teaspoons water
filling
- 12 ounces fresh blackberries
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tsp Instant Clearjel thickener (substitute 1 Tbsp cornstarch)
- juice of 1/2 lemon
glaze
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted
- water for thinning
Instructions
- Start by making the crust. Pulse the flour and salt a few times in a food processor to combine. Add the cold chunks of butter and shortening to the bowl and pulse about 20 times until the mixture is grainy.
- Add the ice water, a little at a time, while continuing to pulse, until the dough just comes together when you pinch it between your fingers. Stop the machine to check it. NOTE: you may not need all of the water, but I always do.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and bring it together into a ball. If there is still any remaining dry flour make sure to knead that into the dough to get it all incorporated. If your dough is too sticky, add a touch more flour.
- Cut the ball of dough in half, form two flat rectangles, and wrap each one in plastic. Refrigerate the dough for 2 hours (or overnight) before rolling it out.
- While the dough is chilling make the filling. This step can also be made the day before if you like. Put the berries into a saucepan. Mix the sugar and Clearjel thickener together and add to pan along with the lemon juice. Starting on low and then increasing the heat to medium high, cook the berries until they start to soften and the sugar has dissolved. Mash the berries with a fork as they soften. Stir almost constantly.
- Cook for about 8 minutes, or until it’s the consistency of a runny jam. I like to mash most of the berries. Chill the filling until ready to use.
- Preheat the oven to 350F
- Lay out a sheet of parchment large enough for a baking sheet and lightly flour it. Roll out one of the pieces of dough to (roughly) a 9×13 rectangle. Don’t stress, if it’s close, that’s fine. It helps to let the dough rest for a few minutes to warm up slightly before trying to roll it out.
- Spoon the jam over the top, leaving about an inch all around free.
- Roll out the top crust, and carefully place over the jam filling, pressing down all around the edges to seal. if you’ve got excess dough you can roll it up a bit.
- Brush with the egg wash and bake for about 40 minutes until golden. Let cool before glazing.
- To make the glaze whisk or stir the sugar together with the water, a tablespoon at a time, until you get a glaze consistency. Brush it liberally over the top of the cooled pie. Let dry before slicing.
This recipe looks great! One question….do I bake the crust on the parchment paper on the baking sheet or just on the baking sheet?
I bake right on the parchment. No sticking and no mess.
My first recipe from this blog but definitely won’t be my last!! We had to put it away so we didn’t eat it all in one day. I found the dough to be a little difficult to work with when rolling out as it kept crumbling but I am guessing I should have used more water when I made it. Regardless the crust baked up really nicely and the pie bars tasted delicious. Used chia seeds a thickener for the jam because I was out of cornstarch and that worked very nicely.
I just ran across this site finding a number of “must try” recipes. I tried this one with cranberries; my freezer was well stocked with them. I added orange zest and fresh squeezed juice to the glaze. It was an overwhelming success. Now, I can’t wait to try it with the blackberries. So good!
I never thought to use cranberries in this recipe, love that idea so much!
I don’t use Crisco (or seed oils). Will lard work just as well? Thank you
I assume so Liza, I have only baked with lard for biscuits, but it should work in the same way as the shortening.
Can you make this recipe using jam instead of fresh fruit?
Yes, for sure!
Can I use frozen berries from the store?
Yes, sure.
What size pan??? 9×13 or smaller?
I use a sheet pan, you’re going to roll out the dough kind of freeform, into a rectangle, and bake on the sheet pan.