Description
Delight in these classic Strawberry Crumb Bars featuring a buttery, crumbly crust layered with fresh, sweetened strawberries. Perfect for a sweet treat or dessert, this easy-to-make recipe combines a tender crumb topping with juicy strawberry filling, baked to golden perfection.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Crust and Crumb Topping
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup very cold butter (8 tablespoons or 1 stick)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Strawberry Filling
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, chopped
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare pan: Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Line the bottom of an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, allowing the paper to hang over the edges for easy removal later.
- Mix dry ingredients for crust: In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup white sugar, 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, stirring together evenly.
- Cut in the butter: Using a fork or pastry cutter, cut the very cold butter into the flour mixture until you have pea-sized crumbs. Alternatively, pulse in a food processor briefly. Handle the mixture gently to keep the butter cold and the texture crumbly.
- Add egg and vanilla: In a separate small bowl or measuring cup, beat the egg with a fork, then add the vanilla extract. Stir this into the crumb mixture until combined, forming a crumbly dough.
- Form bottom crust: Press half of the crumbly dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan to create the base layer.
- Prepare strawberry filling: In another bowl, mix 1/3 cup white sugar with 2 teaspoons cornstarch. Add the chopped strawberries and gently combine until the strawberries are evenly coated with the sugar and cornstarch mixture.
- Assemble the bars: Spoon the strawberry filling evenly over the pressed crust in the pan. Then crumble the remaining dough over the strawberry layer to create the topping.
- Bake: Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for about 45 minutes, or until the crumb topping is slightly golden brown. Ovens vary; the bars may bake in as little as 38 minutes.
- Cool and serve: Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. For best results, refrigerate the bars until ready to serve. Lift the bars out using the parchment paper edges and cut into squares.
Notes
- Ensure the butter is very cold to achieve the perfect crumb texture; overworking the dough will warm the butter and affect the crumbs.
- Adjust sugar in the strawberry filling based on the sweetness of your strawberries; increase to 1/2 cup sugar if your strawberries are tart.
- You can double this recipe for a 9×13-inch pan; just adjust ingredient quantities accordingly.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar (approximately 1/9th of the recipe)
- Calories: 220
- Sugar: 15g
- Sodium: 90mg
- Fat: 11g
- Saturated Fat: 6.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3.5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 28g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 40mg
