What are “Snitter”?
If you’ve been around Skandibaking for a little while, you may have noticed that we have several recipes for a baked good that we call “snitter” in Danish. For example hindbærsnitter (raspberry bars), citronsnitter (lemon bars), rabarbersnitter (rhubarb bars), makronsnitter (marzipan bars), and æblesnitter (apple bars). Obviously, we’ve translated it as “bars” in English, but it more directly translates to “slices”. And this makes sense, as the category encompasses many different types of flavors and textures, with the common element being that they’re all baked in a large tray and then sliced! Typically, it’s a combination of fruit, pastry, and sometimes another topping, like marzipan or crumble. Today’s recipe for blackberry crumble bars, or brombærsnitter, is yet another recipe to add to our “snitter” list!
The Underrated Berry
If you ask me, blackberries are the underrated berry. People (us included) are always cooking and baking with raspberries, strawberries, and even blueberries before we remember that blackberries are an option too. I love the flavor – it’s sweet but tart at the same time – and the texture is truly unmatched by any other berry. It pops in your mouth but still has a somewhat firm texture, holding together better than raspberries. I suppose it doesn’t have as strong of a flavor as strawberries, but it still adds great balance to any dessert. So, this summer, bake with blackberries – we promise you won’t regret it! 😊
Today’s Recipe: Blackberry Bars
These brombærsnitter are such a perfect summer treat. Not only do they make use of a delicious late summer fruit, but they have a buttery pastry on the bottom and a crisp crumble on top that balance out the textures and flavors of the blackberry filling in the middle. Because they’re “snitter”, they’re also ideal to bring to a summer dinner party or barbecue, since you can cut them into bars and they’re easy to share. Ours are decorated with fresh blackberries to make them look extra beautiful, but a sprinkle of powdered sugar or even a drizzle of simple icing would also do the job. Read on to learn how you can easily make these at home!
Fresh and Rich
This dessert certainly isn’t lacking in butter, and that’s what makes it so rich, while the blackberries add the fresh burst of tartness that you need to balance out the pastry and crumble. I really can’t sum up the taste and texture when you bite into one of these bars – you’ll have to bake it at home to find out 😉 – but it’s certainly well-balanced. You get the crisp and flaky buttery pastry on the bottom, as well as the sweet crumble on top, and then the lovely blackberry flavor comes through at the end. Delicious!
Blackberry Bar Ingredients
So, what do you need to make these brombærsnitter, aka blackberry crumble bars? There are three elements: the pastry, filling, and crumble topping. For the first, you’ll need flour, cold butter, powdered sugar, an egg, vanilla extract, and salt. This is a pretty standard shortcrust pastry recipe. Then, the filling consists of blackberries (fresh or frozen), sugar, salt, lemon juice and zest, cornstarch (to thicken), and water. You can replace the blackberries with another berry or berry blend if that’s what you have on hand. Finally, for the crumble, you’ll need flour, brown sugar, white sugar, salt, and melted butter. To decorate, a few blackberries to sprinkle on top are all you need!
How to Make Blackberry Bars
To start these brombærsnitter, make the filling so that it can cool while you make the dough and the crumble topping. This is simple – just combine the ingredients according to the recipe below and let the mixture simmer until it reaches a thick and jammy consistency. Next, for the pastry dough, combine the dry ingredients and add the butter, crumbling it between your fingers until it resembles sand (this takes a little while). You can also use a food processor which speeds up the process. Add the egg and vanilla, and gently knead the dough until it comes together. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
In the meantime, the ingredients for the crumble topping just need to be mixed until it clumps together and there are no dry spots of flour. Take out the pastry dough and roll it into a large rectangle, placing it onto a parchment paper- or silicone-lined baking sheet. Top with the blackberry jam filling, then the crumble topping. Bake this until golden brown and let it cool briefly before slicing. Enjoy!
Brombærsnitter (Blackberry Crumble Bars)
Ingredients
PASTRY
- 300 grams flour
- 200 grams unsalted butter, cold
- 50 grams powdered sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
FILLING
- 350 grams blackberries
- 150 grams granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Lemon zest from 1 lemon (optional)
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp water
CRUMBLE TOPPING
- 120 grams flour
- 50 grams brown sugar
- 50 grams granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 70 grams butter, melted
- 100 grams whole blackberries (for sprinkling on the top)
Instructions
BLACKBERRY FILLING
- Start by making the blackberry filling. Add blackberries, sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice to a small pot.
- Place on the stove and heat over medium to low heat. Cook for around 10 minutes, until the blackberries have burst and released their liquid.
- Dissolve 1 tbsp of cornstarch in 1 tbsp of water and add to the blackberry mixture. This should thicken up as it reaches boiling point.
- Once it has reached a jammy consistency, remove from the heat and let cool. Place in the fridge to chill down even faster.
PASTRY BASE
- Combine flour, powdered sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. If you don’t have a food processor, you can also do this by hand in a bowl.
- Add cold butter and pulse in the food processor until it looks like sand. If doing this by hand, just break up the cold butter with your fingers and crumble until you reach a sand-like consistency.
- Add egg and vanilla extract and pulse until the dough starts to come together. If working by hand, add to your bowl, mix to distribute, and gently press together until your dough forms a ball.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
CRUMBLE TOPPING
- Combine flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt in a bowl.
- Pour over melted butter.
- Mix together with a spoon until it starts to clump together. You want various sizes of crumbles, so don't mix it too much, but you don't want any of it to be dry.
- When done mixing, set aside until ready to roll out the pastry base.
ASSEMBLY
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll out the pastry base of your dough to a rough rectangle about 1/4" thick, and around the size of a half sheet baking pan.
- Trim the edges of the pastry base to get an even rectangle. You can save the scraps to use for other shortcrust pastry purposes!
- Transfer the pastry base to the baking sheet.
- Spread the blackberry filling over the top.
- Add the crumble topping over the blackberry filling.
- Add extra blackberries over the top – they can be whole or cut into smaller pieces! This is optional if you want to skip this step.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until the edges of the pastry are golden and the crumble topping is golden as well.
- Let cool, then slice and enjoy!
