Easy Lemon Blueberry Bars - Celebrating Sweets

Published: May 12, 2022 Modified: Apr 5, 2023 by Allison 7 Comments These flavorful Lemon Blueberry Bars are made with fresh blueberries, lemon, and vanilla and finished with a thick layer of icing. They bake up moist and dense, similar to a blondie, packed with light and fresh flavors. An easy dessert thats

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These flavorful Lemon Blueberry Bars are made with fresh blueberries, lemon, and vanilla and finished with a thick layer of icing. They bake up moist and dense, similar to a blondie, packed with light and fresh flavors. An easy dessert that’s perfect for summer snacking. 

We have a new member of the lemon-blueberry family. These bars join our Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake, Lemon Blueberry Bread, and Lemon Blueberry Muffins.  

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These lemon blueberry bars are:

Easy: They come together in minutes. No electric mixer or fancy equipment. 

Moist and dense: The texture of these bars falls somewhere between a cake and a blondie. More moist than a cake but a more spongy than a blondie.

Packed with blueberries: One whole cup of blueberries adds pops of fresh flavor (and color!) all throughout the bars.

Loaded with lemon: Lemon zest and lemon juice add just the right amount of tang.

Topped with icing: A simple powdered sugar icing with a bit of lemon and vanilla.

Ingredients needed

  • Unsalted butter – Melted butter helps to create a rich, soft, and chewy bar.
  • Sugars – A combination of brown sugar and granulated sugar.
  • Eggs – One large egg plus an extra egg yolk for richness.
  • Lemons – You’ll use lemon juice and zest.
  • Vanilla – The perfect complement to lemon and blueberries.
  • Blueberries – Fresh blueberries are best, frozen are not recommended.
  • Flour – Regular all purpose flour.
  • Baking powder – For just a little bit of lift.
  • Salt – To balance out the sweetness.
  • Powdered sugar – For the icing.
  • Milk – For the icing.

Recipe overview

Whisk melted butter and sugars. Add egg, egg yolk, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest.

Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in blueberries (tossed with a little flour).

Pour into a lined and greased 8×8 baking pan and bake.

Once the bars have cooled, prepare the icing. Whisk powdered sugar, milk, melted butter, vanilla, and lemon zest. Pour over the bars and spread into an even layer. Place in the refrigerator for the icing to firm up.

Recipe tips

You’ll need two medium-sized lemons for this recipe. That should provide enough juice and zest for both the bars and the icing.

Use a fine grater (like a Microplane) or zester to remove the zest from the lemons. Only remove the yellow part of the skin, not the white pith.

This recipe should be made with fresh blueberries. Frozen blueberries will add too much moisture and make the bars soggy.

Prefer less icing? Half the icing portion of the recipe and drizzle it on the bars.

Not a fan of blueberries? Try our Raspberry Lemon Bars.

Serving and storage

Store in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to 3 days. Serve chilled or at cool room temperature.

More bar recipes

Recipe

Stack of two lemon blueberry bars

Lemon Blueberry Bars

These flavorful Lemon Blueberry Bars are made with fresh blueberries, lemon, and vanilla and finished with a thick layer of icing. They bake up moist and dense, similar to a blondie, packed with light and fresh flavors.

4.89 from 9 votes

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Servings: 12

Calories: 251kcal

Author: Allison – Celebrating Sweets

Ingredients

Instructions

Bars:

  • Preheat oven to 350°F with the rack in the middle of the oven. Line an 8×8 baking pan with foil or parchment and lightly grease. Set aside.

  • Combine 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour, along with the baking powder, and salt.

  • In a separate bowl, whisk melted butter and both sugars for one full minute. Add lemon zest, juice, whole egg, egg yolk, and vanilla, whisking until well combined. Tap the whisk on the side of the bowl to remove all the excess batter, then remove the whisk from the bowl. Add the flour mixture and stir with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon until well combined.

  • Toss the blueberies with the remaining 1 tablespoon flour. Add to the batter and gently stir until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread into an even layer.

  • Bake for 24-28 minutes, until golden brown around the edges and a toothpick insterted into the center comes out without raw batter on it. Place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Icing:

  • Whisk all ingredients until smooth. You can easily adjust the consistency by adding more powdered sugar to thicken or more milk to thin. Pour the icing over the cooled bars and spread into an even layer. Place in the refrigerator to firm up, about an hour or so.

Notes

Store in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to 3 days. Serve chilled or at cool room temperature. Tips:
  • You’ll need two medium-sized lemons for this recipe. That should provide enough juice and zest for both the bars and the icing.
  • Use a fine grater (like a Microplane) or zester to remove the zest from the lemons. Only remove the yellow part of the skin, not the white pith.
  • This recipe should be made with fresh blueberries. Frozen blueberries will add too much moisture and make the bars soggy.
  • Prefer less icing? Half the icing portion of the recipe and drizzle it on the bars.

Nutrition

Calories: 251kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 69mg | Potassium: 58mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 315IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.

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