Peanut Butter Blackberry Bars
Published May 19, 2020
Yossy Arefi for The New York Times (Photography and Styling)
- Total Time
- 1 hour, plus cooling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
½ cup/115 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pan
1 cup/255 grams natural or processed peanut butter or almond butter
½ cup/110 grams packed light or dark brown sugar
¾ cup/150 grams granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups/190 grams all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 (10-ounce/285-gram) bag frozen blackberries, raspberries, blueberries or a combination
Flaky salt (optional)
Nutritional analysis per serving
31 grams carbs; 27 milligrams cholesterol; 267 calories; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 14 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 168 milligrams sodium; 5 grams protein; 20 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8- or 9-inch square pan and line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two of the sides.
- Step 2
In a large bowl, stir together butter, peanut butter, brown sugar and ½ cup granulated sugar until smooth and creamy. Add egg and vanilla and beat to combine. Add flour, salt and baking powder and stir to combine.
- Step 3
Press about two-thirds of the dough into the prepared pan. In a separate bowl, toss berries with remaining ¼ cup granulated sugar. Scatter berry and sugar mixture over dough, then crumble remaining dough over top, pulling it apart into big crumbs.
- Step 4
Bake on the middle rack until golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. Sprinkle with flaky salt, if using. Let cool completely before slicing into squares. Store, covered in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days.
Private Notes
Comments
Like other commenters I think the sugar could be reduced a little bit, but otherwise it's really good and really easy to make ... even if you're watching the downfall of democracy while trying to throw it together.
Do you let the berries thaw or keep frozen? What if you use fresh berries? Will it be too runny?
@Alexandra and 5 years later we’re still watching, albeit through splayed fingers.
I agree about the sugar-I eliminated all the granulated sugar. I did sprinkle two tablespoons of cornstarch to the 10 ounces of frozen blueberries, blackberries and raspberries and tossed lightly. To get the 1/3 to 2/3 dough split, I patted it into a round and used a sharp knife to divide it into thirds. One of my granddaughters helped make this and we had a little fraction lesson. Her whole family loved them!
This turned out very tasty looking but oh man, the bottom never really cooked- despite being in the oven and hour (10 mins covered)! I added lemon zest and cinnamon as others suggested, plus swapped out about one quarter of the flour and replaced with an oats and ground hazelnut combo. It's also tasty, but the fact that it's not more cooked doesn't have me sold. Recipe just seems too wet.
Used fresh berries and was worried that they would make the bars too juicy, but they worked out perfectly. Also reduced the sugar a bit and that worked great too.