WHOLE-GRAIN BLUEBERRY CRUMB BARS

We went to a crab party a few weeks ago. My hubby took some photos in between cooking batches of crabs. That's me in the pink, going for "one more" crab. They were so sweet, meaty and delicious. We decorated the tables with our crab paper and Guy's crab boards, and had a really good time.

I don't know what it is with Guy, but he always gets me in the most dignified poses, like with my mouth open, eating some delicious Mediterranean chicken orzo salad. All the photos are on my other blog, if you want to see them and read more about the party.

It was potluck in addition to the crabs. I brought green bean and radish salad, these delicious blueberry bars, and Peanutty Peanut Butter Bars (recipe to post soon). I used fresh blueberries to make the bars, but frozen would be fine, too. They were just sweet enough for me, and the oats and whole wheat were perfect with the fruit. For you purists out there, adding a touch of cinnamon and cardamom will not destroy the blueberry flavor. In fact, it enhances it. And you will not know you have added spices, because they work in the background. Honest. Try it once and you may be converted. These bars are easy and good and I'll be making them again. I promise you they don't taste of lemon, orange, cinnamon and cardamom. They taste of blueberries.

Whole-Grain Blueberry Crumb Bars

Adapted from allrecipes.com, A. Beavers, Recipe ID 10462

Rating: 9 out of 10

INGREDIENTS:

CRUST: 1 cup sugar

2 cups white whole wheat (or whole wheat) flour, whisked first then lightly spooned into cup

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1 tsp. lemon zest

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. sea salt

2 tsp. molasses

1 cup (2 sticks) Smart Balance 50/50 butter blend

1 large egg

Heat oven to 375F. Grease a 9" x 13" pan. In work bowl of food processor, combine sugar, flour, oats, zest, baking powder, salt and molasses. Pulse till well mixed. Cut butter into pieces and add with egg to flour mixture. Pulse till mixture is a crumbly dough, and ingredients are well distributed. Pat half of dough into prepared pan.

FILLING: 4 cups blueberries (if frozen, do not thaw)

1/2 cup sugar

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. lemon zest

1/ tsp. orange zest

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground cardamom

In large bowl, combine all ingredients, stirring gently so as not to break the berries. Spoon the fruit mixture over the crust evenly. Crumble the remaining half of dough over the berry layer. Bake about 50 minutes, or till top is nicely browned and filling bubbles. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

These are nice party bars because they can easily be picked up. I had no trouble removing them from the pan either. However, they have a good amount of sugar and fat, so eat sparingly. These are not healthful. They are just a little less harmful because of the whole grains.