Streusel pear and blueberry bars

Ingredients

• 2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
• 3/4 cup (175 mL) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

• 3 slightly underripe pears (695 g), such as Bosc or Bartlett, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
• Juice of ½ a lemon
• 2 cups (500 mL) blueberries

• ¾ cup (175 mL) flour
• ½ cup (125 mL) brown sugar
• ¼ tsp (1 mL) salt
• ½ cup (125 mL) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• ⅔ cup (160 mL) large flake oats (old-fashioned oats)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350⁰F (180⁰C). Line a 13X 9-inch (33X23 cm) baking pan with parchment paper, allowing 2-inch (5 cm) overhang on 2 sides of pan.
2. In large bowl combine flour, sugar and salt to make the crust. With a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven and cool completely.
3. In small bowl toss pear slices lightly with lemon juice. Set aside.
4. In medium bowl stir together flour brown sugar and salt to make the streusel. With a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Stir in oats.
5. Assemble the filling by layering the pear slices on top of the crust in a single layer. They may overlap slightly if necessary. Scatter blueberries over the pears evenly. Then crumble streusel over the top of the fruit, pressing down gently.
6. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the blueberries are bubbling and streusel is lightly browned.
7. For best results allow bars to cool for at least 60 minutes before slicing. Store in an airtight container up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

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