Description
Delicious and easy-to-make Strawberry Crumb Bars featuring a buttery crumbly crust layered with fresh, sweet strawberries. Perfect for a delightful dessert or snack, these bars combine a tender base, juicy strawberry filling, and a crisp crumb topping baked to golden perfection.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Crust and Crumb Mixture
- 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
Strawberry Filling
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, chopped
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit to get it ready for baking the bars to a perfect golden finish.
- Prepare the Pan: Line an 8×8 inch baking pan with parchment paper, allowing excess to hang over the sides for easy removal of the bars later.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup white sugar, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt, stirring well to blend.
- Cut in Butter: Using a fork or pastry cutter, cut very cold butter into the dry mix until it forms small pea-sized crumbs. You can also pulse this mixture in a food processor for convenience. Avoid warming the butter during this process.
- Add Wet Ingredients: In a separate cup, beat the egg with a fork, then add vanilla. Stir this into the crumbly flour mixture until just combined; the dough should remain crumbly.
- Form Bottom Crust: Pat half of this crumb dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan, pressing firmly to create the base layer.
- Prepare Strawberry Filling: In another bowl, mix 1/3 cup sugar and cornstarch. Stir in chopped fresh strawberries ensuring they are evenly coated.
- Assemble Filling: Spread the strawberry mixture evenly over the bottom crust layer in the pan.
- Add Crumb Topping: Crumble the remaining dough evenly over the strawberry filling, covering it with the crumb topping.
- Bake: Bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes or until the top is lightly golden brown. Ovens vary, so check starting at 38 minutes.
- Cool and Serve: Let the bars cool completely in the pan. For best results, refrigerate before slicing into squares and serving.
Notes
- Ensure the butter is very cold before mixing to achieve the ideal crumb texture and prevent melting.
- Do not overwork the dough; handling it minimally keeps the crust tender and crumbly.
- If strawberries are tart rather than sweet, increase the sugar in the filling to 1/2 cup for balanced sweetness.
- You can double this recipe for a 9×13 inch pan, adjusting ingredient quantities accordingly.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar (1/9 of recipe)
- Calories: 220 kcal
- Sugar: 17 g
- Sodium: 110 mg
- Fat: 11 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 29 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 40 mg
