Gooey Blueberry Muffin Bars

With August here, I feel the days of summer slowly slipping away.

The long nights with perfect sunsets.

The lazy days by the pool (Truth: Sadly I have only been to the pool a few times this year!). The lack of a schedule on many days. And the summer markets with beautiful summer produce.

While many are ready for cooler temperatures and normal “school time” routines, I do want summer to end this year. Even though our summer has been pretty low key, a small vacation (which I will be highlighting soon), some regular summer activities (like movies and concerts in the park), and our annual summer float the river/camping trip; I sure am going to miss these warm, picturesque summer days.

With only two and a half weeks left until school starts, and life officially gets back to business, I plan on soaking up as much summer as possible! Things still left on my summer bucket list? Well, staying up late and sleeping in, sunbathing by the pool, finally finishing the ginormous (and only) book on my summer reading list and eating as much summer produce as possible.

Since I just can’t quit eating the summer bounty, I have several recipes that I *must* squeeze in before it’s too late! Even though I have several recipes “stockpiled” to share, I went back and forth all day as to which of these seasonal recipes to share first. A hearty dinner packed with summer veggies? A breakfast bursting with cherries? A few more frozen treats? Or these Gooey Blueberry Muffin Bars?

I have a kid friendly frozen treat to share with you on Friday, so I was leaning towards the breakfast or dinner recipe, you know to have more balance with the recipes I posted this week. But as I stared and stared at all the photos, I kept drooling over these blueberry bars. We love ‘gooey’ cake bars and I have shared several versions here on Kitchen Concoctions in the past. In fact, one day I sat down and wrote out (in my trusty composition notebook) about 10 different versions I want to try! But it was one day earlier this summer, when I had blueberries literally rolling out of my fridge, that this version popped into my head.

I couldn’t be happier about how these bars turned out! A buttery blueberry crust, topped with fresh blueberries, gooey sweetened condensed milk and a crumbly topping… a summer hit made over and over again!

One Year Ago: Strawberries ‘n Cream Oatmeal
Two Years Ago: Cherry Balsamic Pork Chops
Three Years Ago: Hawaiian Rice
Four Years Ago: Blueberry Sorbet
Five Years Ago: Homemade Star Crunch

Gooey Blueberry Muffin Bars
by Heather H. of Kitchen Concoctions: www.kitchen-concoctions.com
Printable Version
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 28-30 minutes Yields: approximately 12 bars

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 (15.3 ounce) package blueberry muffin mix (½ cup reserved)
1 egg
¼ cup butter, melted

Topping:
1 cup fresh blueberries
½ cup sweetened condensed milk
½ cup reserved blueberry muffin mix
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup rolled oats
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup butter, cubed and chilled

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8×8-inch baking dish with parchment paper or spray pan with nonstick cooking spray.

For crust:
In a large bowl, stir together the muffin mix (setting ½ cup aside), egg and melted butter; stirring until well combined and dough has formed. Pat the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan.

For Topping:
Top crust evenly with blueberries. Drizzle sweetened condensed milk evenly over the blueberries. 

In a medium sized bowl, stir together reserved ½ cup muffin mix, brown sugar, rolled oats and cinnamon. Using a pastry cutter or fork; cut chilled butter pieces into muffin/oat mixture to form crumb topping. Sprinkle crumb topping over blueberries and condensed milk; making sure blueberries and condensed milk are completely covered with crumb topping.

Bake for 28-30 minutes, or until lightly browned and center is set.

Cool completely before cutting. Once cooled, use parchment to lift bars out of pan and cut into squares to serve.

Other recipes you might enjoy:
Lemon Blueberry Muffins
In Season: Blueberries
Thin Mint Gooey Cake Bars
Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
Mixed Berry “Shortcake” Sheet Cake