Easy Strawberry Crumble Bars
Strawberry Crumble Bars are absolutely irresistible, your whole family will go crazy for them. Buttery shortbread crust with a sweet strawberry filling and brown sugar crumble on top is the perfect summer dessert.
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I love strawberry season! I make strawberry recipes all year long but my Strawberry Jam Recipe, Strawberry Turnovers, and Strawberry Swiss Roll are exceptional with seasonal berries. This is an easy strawberry dessert recipe you can enjoy for breakfast or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert.
Why this recipe works
If you love fruit crumbles as much as I do you'll love this one! It's the perfect recipe to use with in-season fresh strawberries during the spring and summer months like this Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle. These bars aren't overly sweet which lets the juicy strawberry filling be the star for the perfect summer treat.
Ingredients needed
Ingredient notes
- Strawberries-I recommend fresh but frozen will work in a pinch.
- Granulated sugar-You can adjust according to the sweetness of your strawberries.
- Lemon juice-Fresh is best here
- Corn starch- Thickens the strawberry mixture.
- Butter- Use real butter and make sure it's really cold butter.
- Flour-All purpose flour works great.
- Brown sugar- Either light or dark will work.
- Oats- Old-fashioned oats work best.
How to make this recipe
- Step 1-Cut the strawberries up and place them in a saucepan.
- Step 2-Add the sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch and simmer until thickened.
- Step 3- Add the shortbread ingredients and pulse until
- Step 4- Add in cold butter pieces Pulse until the mixture is the texture of wet sand.
- Step 5-Remove 1 1/2 cups of the shortbread crust and set aside.
- Step 6-Add the brown sugar, oats, and remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and pulse to form the crumble topping.
- Step 7-Press the buttery shortbread base into an even layer on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish or pan.
- Step 8-Spread the strawberry filling evenly over the crust. Followed by the crumb mixture.
Recipe tips
- Spray your baking dish or line pan with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
- Make sure your butter is extremely cold. I cut mine into small pieces and place them in a small bowl in the freezer to keep it really chilled.
- Press crust firmly into a baking dish with a spoon or your hands.
- If your strawberries are a little more tart. You can add some extra sugar to sweeten them up. Just add 1 tablespoon at a time until desired sweetness.
- Using a potato masher can help break down the juicy strawberries faster.
Recipe faq's
Yes, you can but omit the 2 tablespoons of water and let simmer for another couple of minutes to reduce any extra liquid from the frozen strawberries.
Wrap bars in plastic wrap and place in a ziplock freezer bag or freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 4 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before serving.
You can adapt this recipe to really any type of fresh berries you have on hand to make a fruit crumble or try my Blueberry Crumble Bars.
You can use a large mixing bowl and a pastry cutter to mix the buttery crust and crumble mixture, but it will take you much longer to do it by hand. A Food Processor makes it much easier.
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Strawberry Crumble Bars
Ingredients
Strawberry Filling
- 4 1/2 cups fresh strawberries diced (about 2 lbs)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons corn starch
- 2 tablespoons water
For the crust/crumble
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2/3 granulated cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoons cold Butter set aside 2 tablespoons for topping
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup Quick Cooking Oats
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray.
- Prepare the filling: In a large saucepan, combine the chunks of berries, sugar, lemon juice, corn starch, and water. Stir to combine. Bring to a gentle boil over med-high heat. Once it starts to boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid turns into a thick syrup (about 6-8 minutes). Remove the pan from the heat and set it aside.
- For the crust/crumble: Using a food processor, hand mixer (or your hands), mix together flour. sugar, egg, baking powder, salt, and vanilla. Slowly add 1/2 cup cold (8 tablespoons) butter mixing until combined. Set aside in a small bowl 1 1/2 cups of the mixture for the topping.
- Pour the remaining mixture into the baking dish packing it firmly.
- Add to the reserved topping mixture, the brown sugar and oats, and the additional 2 tablespoons of cold butter. Mix until crumbly
- Spread the strawberry filling over the crust and sprinkle the topping over the filling.
- Bake for 40 minutes the filling will be bubbly and the crust will be golden.
- Allow cooling for 1-2 hours to set up before slicing.
Video
Notes
- Make sure your butter is extremely cold. I cut mine into small pieces and place them in a small bowl in the freezer to keep it really chilled.
- If your strawberries are a little more tart. You can add some extra sugar to sweeten them up. Just add 1 tablespoon at a time until desired sweetness.
- You can use frozen strawberries but omit the water and let them simmer a bit longer to remove any extra water.
- If you don't have a food processor You can use a large mixing bowl and a pastry cutter to mix the buttery crust and crumble mixture, but it will take you much longer to do it by hand.
- To store- in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- To freeze- Wrap bars in plastic wrap and place in a ziplock freezer bag or freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 4 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before serving.
The ingredients say 10 tablespoons, that was just a typo all fixed now!
It says 1 cup of butter (8 tablespoons) but that’s 1/2 cup butter. 1 cup is 16 tablespoons so what is the correct amount?
I've never used dates in this recipe, let me know how it turns out.
These look great I guess I could follow this recipe but use Dates instead right?