Blackberry Pie Bars

If you can resist the heavenly picture above then you must have a problem.  I took one look and ran to the market as fast as you can say 'snap' so I could sink my teeth into them ASAP. 

After cutting a 'sliver' before whisking them to a dinner party, my husband caught me red-handed, literally and figuratively, since by sliver I mean 3, maybe 4 bars, and I was (on the verge of) licking my fingers clean in my nice party dress.  HEY, you're only pregnant once and sometimes it ain't pretty. Whoever said "you can't have your cake and eat it too" was just plain wrong or obviously never pregnant. There are some things that are meant to be done in private. And this, my friends, is one of them. 

Back to the bars... they taste exactly how they look- a buttery crust topped with a sweet blackberry filling, covered in the a delightful crumble mixture. They are as delicious as they look, especially paired with vanilla ice cream (low fat of course) because then you can have a larger scoop. 

PC: Tracey's Culinary Adventures

Recipe after the jump:

Recipe: 

Blackberry Pie Bars
adapted from Rebecca Rather, The Pastry Queen

Crust and Topping: 

3 cups all-purpose flour1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled

Fruit Filling: 

4 large eggs2 cups sugar1 cup sour cream3/4 cup flourpinch saltzest of 1/2 lemon

1 tsp almond extract (*I used vanilla extract)2 (16-oz) packages frozen blackberries, thawed and drained or fresh blackberries

To make the crust and topping, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan. 

Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse a few times to mix.  Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes, and add to the flour mixture.  Process until the butter is evenly distributed but the mixture is still crumbly, 30-60 seconds.
Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the mixture to use as the topping.  Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the pan, and bake 12-15 minutes.  Cool for at least 10 minutes.

To make the filling, whisk the eggs in a large bowl, then add the sugar, sour cream, flour, salt, lemon zest, and almond (or vanilla) extract.  Gently fold in the berries and spoon the mixture over the crust.  Sprinkle the remaining flour mixture evenly over the filling, and bake 45 to 55 minutes.

Cool at least 1 hour before cutting into bars, or scoop out of the pan to serve cobbler-style.