Strawberry Crumb Bars

Strawberry Crumb Bars - a summery dessert made with fresh strawberries!

 

Excuse me, um, Monday Morning?

First, hi, how are you? Tired? What’s that, you didn’t sleep well? Ah, I’m sorry to hear it. Aaanywho…Juuust wanted to touch base with you about something I’ve been thinking long and hard about lately. And that is: you just don’t treat me as well as I think you should.

 

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I mean, I spend all weekend thinking about you, making myself pretty for your arrival, dreaming up what we’ll do together…doing happy dances in my own personal space on Sunday morning just anticipating waking up to you.

And then…you let me down. Listen, it’s not entirely your fault. I bet you’re doing your best. Maybe if I didn’t binge watch past episodes of The View and E! News Weekend on Sunday night and stay up too late studying celebrity gossip, I’d wake up earlier. But you know how I love less than credible journalism. Or maybe, if I didn’t drink a Diet A&W root beer while reclining in my fluffy bed reading blogs at 11pm, I’d have less indigestion and better breath. Some things are simply too hard to change.

So, I guess…well…I’m asking you to put a little more skip in your step. Up your game a bit. Because I really want to love you like I did when we first met in 1985.

 

 

Strawberry Crumb Bars - a summery dessert made with fresh strawberries!

 

Today, I baked you a sweet treat. Because I want to set a better tone for our weekly dates. I’m a giver.

So please enjoy these strawberry crumb bars. They’re your favorite. Yes, I said crumbly. Uh huh, they do have that buttery shortbread flavor. Mmhmm, with sweet and gooey strawberry centers. Uh, yup, they’re dessert. No, not breakfast technically, but I say it’s after dinner somewhere. I thought you liked that? Listen, if you have a problem with rich little crumb squares and the slight tartness of strawberries, tell me. No? I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that, you like them?

 

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K, good. So…let’s just say we’re a work in progress. No hard feelings, I just think we need to both put a leeeetle more effort into making our time sweeter. These are a start. An olive branch from me to you.

Ha, oh no, that’s sweet of you to think of him, but really, we don’t need to save any for Daniel. In fact, he won’t even know about them. I bet he doesn’t even realize I’d have a moment free to bake them, given how exceptionally busy I am with singing new Ingrid Michaelson songs, baking, drinking lemon lime seltzer, and making messes. So really, he’s fine about it.

 

Strawberry Crumb Bars - a summery dessert made with fresh strawberries!

 

Glad we had this chat.

 

Strawberry Crumb Bars - a summery dessert made with fresh strawberries!

 

Well I feel better. You?

 

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Strawberry Crumb Bars

Servings: 2 Dozen
Calories: 191kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 2/3 cups sugar divided
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup unsalted butter cold and diced into small pieces
  • 1 egg lightly beaten
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Juice and zest of one lemon
  • 5 cups chopped fresh strawberries
  • 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 13x9” baking pan with aluminum foil, allowing for an overhang so that you can remove the bars easily from the pan. Coat the foil well with nonstick cooking spray.
  • Whisk 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, 3 cups flour, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. Use a fork to blend in the cold butter and egg. The dough should be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.
  • In a large bowl, stir together the remaining ½ cup sugar, lemon juice, strawberries, and cornstarch. Evenly spread the strawberry mix over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.
  • Bake for 45 minutes, or until top is just turning golden brown. Let the bars cool completely in the pan before cutting into small squares.

Notes

Nutrition info for 1 bar: Calories: 190.6, Fat: 8.2g, Cholesterol: 28.4mg, Carb: 28g, Fiber: 1.2g, Sugars: 15.5g, Protein: 2.1g
slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 191kcal | Fat: 8g
 

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44 thoughts on “Strawberry Crumb Bars

  1. MelissaNibbles

    At first I thought this was going to be a post about having your period. I was excited because we would’ve been on the same cycle! Oh well. These sound delicious nonetheless.

    Reply
  2. johnny

    Wow! Those Strawberry Crumb Bars look fantastic! That will be a must for us. Ever thought of writing a soap? Daniel must be scratching his head right about now wondering what he got himself into!!!! :):)

    Reply
  3. Angela @ Eat Spin Run Repeat

    Andrea, I just found your blog this weekend after Jess @ How Sweet It Is announced on Twitter that anyone who doesn’t currently follow you should start, and I’m SO glad I did!! I love your sense of humour and your recipes sound absolutely delicious. You’re now in my Google Reader! :)

    Reply
  4. Nicole

    Looks great. I might have to make this for next month’s potluck. Do you have any other favorite finger food recipes?

    Reply
  5. katie

    These look amazing! I bet they made the house smell amazing too! I love the smell of strawberries!

    I love your writing style too, you are too cute!

    Have a great day!!

    Reply
  6. Bee

    Loving the new design and content bar! –and these bars too, of course!

    Wow, I promise I’m totally not copying you (as I generally read your posts from my Google Reader and not clicking through to the page) but I also did a little bit of re-design and content adding too, plus a blog-specific email and such. Still on a freebie layout, but one a little less jarring than PINKPINKPINKKKK!!!

    Keep being lovely, lady, and I’ll keep reading/admiring/borderline recipe stalking you :P

    Reply
  7. biz319

    I love the new design – love how clean looking it is! :D

    And I’ve never had those kind of bars before, but, um, they do look insulin worthy!!

    Reply
  8. Lu

    Love the new look. I think you need to come have a serious talk with my Mondays. They are fickle misbehaved creatures and need a stern talking-to. When can I expect you?

    Reply
  9. Lesley

    Wow! I just found your blog with stumble upon, and I’m so glad I did! These bars are the perfect treat to bring to my dinner date tomorrow night. Can’t wait to make them!

    Reply
  10. Rebecca

    I want these! But if I make them, it will use up the last of our strawberries, and DH will yell at me for (yet again) turning perfectly yummy, deliciously healthy fruit into a sugary treat.

    I really do like fresh fruit. And fresh veggies. But I HATE fresh fruits and veggies that are out of season and trying to pretend that they still taste just as good. So in the winter, I tend to get most of my fruits and veggies in the form of bars and pies and crisps, and pasta dishes with lots of cream sauce.

    Reply
    1. Can You Stay for Dinner

      Couldn’t agree more! And like your husband, sometimes I do feel a leeeetle badly about using a whole tub of strawberries (though these were on super sale) for something like this :) I usually get over it fairly fast though

      Reply
  11. Sheila

    i made these with our fresh-picked strawberries to share with my dad, step-dad, and grandfather today! Everyone loved them: tart, sweet, and buttery. Thanks for making my family think I won’t be doomed in the kitchen forever ;)

    Reply
  12. Rachel

    I made these last night and they were super yummy! I altered it a bit though because I simply can’t leave recipes alone… I traded out half the sugar for Splenda, left out lemon, used half the amount of strawberries (because that’s what I had and I’m lazy) and added in 1/2 cup of strawberry preserves to the filling. They were soooo good! Almost strawberry Pop Tart-y. :0)

    Reply
  13. Nadine Krause

    Just came across your site today and I’m really enjoying it. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I did make it today, however, I didn’t have any strawberries and because I don’t live in town a quick trip to the store was out of the question, so I made this with blueberries. It smells really good, it looks really good and I can hardly wait to try it when it cools.

    Reply
  14. Pingback: Strawberry Crumb Bar Recipe | Strawberry Sue - A blog by the Florida Strawberry Growers Association

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  16. anna

    If I were to make these with raspberries or blueberries {any other fruit} would I need the same amount for the filling? {5 cups}

    Reply

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