These strawberry bars are the must have dessert of the season! They boast a thick shortbread crust, followed by chunks of fresh strawberries in a homemade filling, and a sweet crumble topping that is to die for! The sweet strawberry flavor is paired with decadent layers of buttery sweet crust and hints of lemon and vanilla.
Strawberry crumble bars are great for a potluck, summer picnics, sweet snacks, and can even be served at brunch. They are ready in just 1 hour and made with pantry staples.
Lately strawberries have been the spotlight ingredient in this household! But that’s no surprise because when they are in season, we usually go crazy. If you find yourself with lots of leftover berries you should whip up a batch of these strawberry scones or maybe even crockpot strawberry raspberry jam!
If you love fruit flavored pie bars, we use a similar method to make cherry bars and lemon cream cheese cookie bars, and let’s just say they do not disappoint!
Ingredients Needed
For the crust and the filling:
- flour – I am using all purpose flour
- granulated sugar
- Zest of 1 large lemon
- unsalted butter – make sure it stays cold before you are ready to use it. Salted butter can be substituted (please reduce or remove the addition of salt)
- salt
- eggs
Homemade strawberry filling
- fresh strawberries
- fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- cornstarch
- sugar
How to Make the Best Strawberry Bars
Prep: Line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper so it overhangs the side of the pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Make the crust: Combine the flour, sugar, and lemon zest in a large bowl. Mix using an electric mixer until combined. Add in the cold butter and continue mixing until it is pea sized. Pour in the beaten eggs and mix until the crumbly dough comes together. Press ⅔ of the dough into the prepared dish and set aside.
Mix the filling: Combine the strawberries, cornstarch, lemon juice, and sugar in a bowl and mix until all ingredients are incorporated. Pour the strawberry filling on the crust and smooth evenly with a spatula.
Add the crumb topping: Crumble the remaining dough over the filling.
Cook: Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until the crumb mixture is golden brown.
Serve: Allow the strawberry bars to cook completely, then slice and serve.
Tips for Making and Storing
- Keep leftover bars in an airtight container on the countertop for 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month.
- I like to use larger pieces for the crumble topping, so some of the large chunks of strawberry poke through the top.
- Fresh strawberries that are in season may be sweet enough to reduce the sugar in the filling to ½ cup. This will create less of a glaze across the top.
- If you had to, you can use a canned strawberry filling, except you would omit the sugar.
- You could use this same recipe to make blueberry and blackberry bars, just swap the fruit!
- Add vanilla extract to the dough OR to the strawberry filling (try ½ teaspoon in the filling or a full teaspoon in the dough).
- Make the crumb topping a little easier by using a food processor.
More Recipes for Strawberry Fans:
- STARBUCKS PINK DRINK COPYCAT RECIPE
- STRAWBERRY RHUBARB HAND PIES
- STRAWBERRY FETA SPINACH SALAD
- EASY STRAWBERRY BROWNIES
- STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE TRIFLE – SIMPLE AND SWEET
- STRAWBERRY RHUBARB CRISP
Strawberry Bars
Ingredients
Crust/Topping
- 3 cups flour
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- Zest of 1 large lemon
- ½ cups unsalted butter cold and cut into cubes
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs slightly beaten
Strawberry Filling
- 4 cups fresh strawberries cut in half
- 1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ¾ cups sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper allowing for overhang so that you can lift the cooled bars out of the pan to cut.
- In a standing mixer, add the flour, sugar, and lemon zest. On low speed, mix until combined.
- Add in the butter and mix until you get pea-sized pieces of butter.
- Add in the beaten eggs and mix until a crumbly dough comes together.
- Press ⅔ of the dough evenly into the bottom of the parchment-lined baking dish and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the strawberries, lemon juice, cornstarch, and sugar. Mix until combined.
- Pour the strawberry mixture over the crust and even it out with a rubber spatula.
- Sprinkle the remaining crumbs over the strawberry filling.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until the crumble appears slightly golden brown.
- Pull the baking dish out of the oven and set it aside to cool completely before cutting bars.
Nutrition
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