For The Tennis Ladies (Blueberry Crumble Bars)

I often love to seek any and every excuse to bake up something sweet. I don't bake often, for when I do, I always find at least half of the baked goodness lingering around my kitchen weeks after. I am beginning to think expiration dates are much needed when baking anything in my kitchen that contains sugar, flour, and butter. However, I continue to find pleasure in the kitchen standing by an overheated oven for hours on end waiting for perfection to ring. Luckily today I knew I would be baking for a dozen tennis ladies, thus my blueberry crumble bars would not go to waste. My mother was attending a tennis ladies luncheon day thing and she was to bring a dish of any kind. Therefore, I jumped at the opportunity and eagerly agreed to make Smitten Kitchen's/AllRecipe's Blueberry Crumble Bars for her.

I believe I am often craving to bake because of the sensational aromas which are given off through out the house, and then the sweet, savory smell that lingers on into the morning. (Or until doors and windows are swung open to let loose of the beautiful lemon zest and blueberry juices.) There was no exception to my blueberry crumble bars. They not only turned out to look fabulous, but tasted just as good. The crumble on bottom and top reminded me of cookies that my grandmother and I bake during Christmas time, and the blueberries in between oozed all over as they popped and exploded in the oven. This is a wonderful dessert to give away for it is easy to cut and serve, but it also just as good to eat right at home warm over cold vanilla ice cream.
Ingredients:
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cold unsalted butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces)
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest and juice of one lemon
4 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch
LETS COOK!
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9×13 inch pan. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and lemon zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan. In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares. Serve and enjoy!