blackberry pie bars.

What’s better than a warm, fresh-baked pie straight out of the oven?

A pie bar, which is exponentially easier to make and just as delicious.

For some reason, I fell in love with the idea of these bars when I first saw them in the Pastry Queen cookbook. When I saw that Josie had selected them for this week’s edition of PPQ, I knew I’d have to pull it together and get them done – even though this may have been the most epic weekend in my life.

{Did I just say “epic” – I don’t usually use that word, but I honestly can’t come up with a better one to fit this weekend. More on that later}

So, that’s just what I did. I pulled it together, and I made these bars happen. Luckily, they’re incredibly simple to make: You start with an easy pastry base, press most of it into the bottom of the pan, bake for a few and then top with the blackberry filling, adding more of the crumbled pastry on top and baking again for about an hour. I love that the recipe uses frozen blackberries, so you can make them anytime of year. I halved the recipe, so I used an 8-inch square pan rather than the 9 x 13 dish the recipe calls for, and I think because of that I had to bake everything about 20% longer than the recipe stated. I also threw in an extra handful of berries, and subbed buttermilk for the sour cream because that’s what I had on hand.

I love a good pie – blueberry, blackberry, and cherry are probably my top three fillings. I think these bars would be equally fabulous with either of those fruits, or whatever fruit you prefer. You can serve them up with some vanilla ice cream for dessert, or on their own for breakfast.

Or, you can just eat them. Whenever.

{Click here for the full recipe}