Berry Crumb Bars

Ever since we started getting our weekly local fruit & vegetable delivery from Plow to Porch, I have become a huge fruit lover. The first thing I eat every day is fruit of some sort. When we first started getting the deliveries, I was a little bit daunted at how much fruit we got and what to do with it. I had never even eaten a blackberry the first time I got them in the delivery box, and while I liked them, I thought it might be easier to bake these into a treat for the bike shop instead of just snacking on fruit. I probably won't have this problem again in Summer of 2011, since lately I've had to supplement the fruit in the delivery by purchasing even more fruit (and even then, my husband still complains that I eat all the strawberries before he even knows we have them!). I look forward to baking more of these yummy bars this Spring and Summer, but I know it won't be because I'm trying to use up excess fruit!

Berry Crumb Bars (from Martha Stewart)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted, and 1/2 cup (1 stick), room temperature, plus more for pan
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 containers (5 ounces each) blackberries (I used a mix of Blackberries and Raspberries)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line bottom with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides; butter and flour paper, tapping out excess.
Make topping: In a medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, brown sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; add 1 cup flour, and mix with a fork until large moist crumbs form. Refrigerate topping until ready to use.
In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining 3/4 cup flour, baking powder, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt; set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat room-temperature butter, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy; add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low; mix in flour mixture. Spread batter evenly in pan; sprinkle with blackberries, then chilled topping.
Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Using paper overhang, lift cake onto a work surface; cut into 16 squares.