Creamy Lemon Blueberry Bars

Praise be, I think I may have found the absolute best lemon bar method around! These bars are great if you like the more traditional route, but if you find yourself wanting more creaminess and zero eggy-ness I've got you covered. They have the most phenomenal texture thanks to the sweetened and condensed milk, it's almost custard like and boy do I love all things custard. The addition of blueberries, although not needed, was delightful. It really helped to "sweeten" things up just enough while still leaving that great fresh, tart lemon-y tang. The original recipe called for a graham cracker crust, but I'm not a fan so opted for the sweetened shortbread base and really think it made a great recipe truly fabulous. Although these seem like a perfect summer dessert, we'll be eating them year round. A little shot of sunshine-y goodness in my mouth is always a good thing, especially in the throes of winter. Lemon bars for Thanksgiving AND Christmas ;0)

P.S. I have a real problem with "-y ing" everything don't I?!

Creamy Lemon Blueberry Bars

{Filling adapted from Cook Like a Champion via Two Peas and Their Pod with crust recipe from King Arthur Flour. may half recipe for both crust and filling and bake in 8x8 pan if desired}

Crust:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

2 cups flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Filling:

4 large egg yolks

2 (14 ounce cans) sweetened and condensed milk

1 cup fresh lemon juice

2 t lemon zest

1 1/2-2 cups fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350. Cut butter into flour and powdered sugar (I recommend doing this in a food processor, comes together in a jiffy and it's nice and combined, no crumby mess hassle) and press into bottom of 9x13 pan lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 20 minutes, until just barely starting to color. Set aside to cool a bit while moving onto filling.

For filling:

Whisk together all filling ingredients except blueberries until smooth and well combined. Gently fold in blueberries. Pour filling onto crust and bake at 350 for 15-20, until just set.

Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate for at least and hour before cutting. Serve chilled or at almost room temp (my preference). Keep leftovers refrigerated, 3-4 days in airtight container.