Strawberry Crumble Bars with Lemon Glaze

These strawberry crumble bars feature fresh strawberries, a buttery crumb topping, and a lemon cream cheese glaze. Perfect for summer backyard BBQs or any occasion that calls for easy strawberry desserts.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword strawberry bars

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1

Rest/Cool 1

Total Time 1 20

Servings bars

Calories 350kcal

Author Julia

Ingredients

Crust and Topping:

3 cups all-purpose flour + 2 tablespoons
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar firmly packed
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 large egg at room temperature

Strawberry Filling:

2 ½ cups fresh strawberries diced (pre-washed, dried, and hulled)
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 ½ tablespoons corn starch

Lemon Glaze

2 tablespoons cream cheese full fat brick softened to room temperature
1 tablespoon unsalted butter at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 cup powdered sugar sifted
½ teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons whole milk at room temperature (2 or 4 tablespoons)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the Crust and Topping:

Prior to preparing the bars you need to prepare the oven and baking pan. Place one of the racks in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350˚ Fahrenheit. Temperatures of ovens do vary, the best way to ensure you are getting the most accurate temperature reading is to use an oven thermometer.
Evenly spray an 8x8 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray and line the pan with parchment paper. This will make it easier to remove the bars from the pan once they have cooled.
In a medium sized bowl add the all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk the dry ingredients together and set the bowl aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer, beat together on medium speed the unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar for 4 minutes. After 4 minutes the butter and sugar mixture should be light and fluffy in texture.
Turn the mixer down to low and add in the vanilla bean paste, lemon zest and room temperature large egg and mix until everything is fully combined. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure that everything is incorporated.
Keeping the mixer on low, add in the dry ingredients by the cup full and mix until you no longer see streaks of white from the flour.
Once the dough mixture has finished mixing, measure out approximately ⅓ of the dough (approximately 2 cups) to be used as the topping and place it in a small bowl and set it aside.
Transfer the remaining dough into the prepared 8x8 inch pan and press it into the bottom of the pan. I like to use a rubber spatula or the bottom of a glass to press the dough in and form an even crust.
Bake the crust at 350˚ Fahrenheit for approximately 14-16 minutes until it is lightly golden brown. You do not want to overbake the crust. Once it has finished baking, remove it from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool while you prepare the strawberry filling.

Make the Strawberry Filling:

Place the fresh chopped strawberries, granulated sugar, lemon juice, and corn starch in a large bowl and stir the ingredients together until they are evenly combined.
Pour the strawberry mixture into the pan over the cooled crust and spread it out evenly.

Add the Crumble Topping:

Using the 2 ½ cups of reserved dough from the crust, pinch off small flatter pieces approximately ¾ inch in size and place them evenly across the top of the strawberry mixture in the pan. Make sure to space the dough bits out so that you can still see the strawberry mixture below.
Bake the bars at 350˚ Fahrenheit for approximately 45-50 minutes until the bars are golden brown and bubbling on top. Baking times will vary so be sure that you check the bars after 35 minutes to make sure they are not browning too quickly. If the bars are browning, cover them loosely with a foil tent and allow them to continue to bake.
After the bars have finished baking, remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool on a wire rack to room temperature prior to adding the glaze.

Prepare the Lemon Glaze:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer, beat together on medium speed the softened cream cheese and unsalted butter for 3 minutes until it is pale in color.
Lower the speed of the mixer and add in the vanilla bean paste and salt and mix until combined.
Keeping the mixer on low, slowly add in the sifted powdered sugar by the half cup full and mix on low until fully combined.
Add in the fresh squeezed lemon juice, and then slowly stream in the whole milk one spoonful at a time. Beat the glaze until it is a smooth and creamy texture adding more milk as needed so that it can be drizzled on top of the bars. In the event that the glaze becomes too thin, you can add more powdered sugar to firm it back up.
Using a spoon or piping bag, drizzle the glaze over the cooled strawberry bars.

Notes

Vanilla substitutions: If you don’t want to use vanilla bean paste or if you don’t have it, feel free to use equal parts vanilla extract. When using vanilla bean paste, I personally do not recommend using bourbon vanilla bean paste because it can alter the flavor of the recipe ever so slightly.
Remember that all oven times will vary due to ovens heating differently. For the most accurate read on your oven temperature, I recommend that you use a thermometer to make sure that you are baking at the correct temperature.
How to drizzle the glaze: I added the glaze to a piping bag and cut the tip off the end before drizzling the glaze. You can drizzle it on with a spoon or add it to a piping bag and pipe it on.
Do I have to add the cream cheese glaze? The glaze is optional and the bars are a tasty dessert served on its own with or without the glaze.
Storage Instructions: The strawberry bars should be stored covered in an airtight container and should keep for approximately 4 days in the refrigerator.

You will need the following supplies:

8x8 inch Baking Pan
Measuring Cups
Measuring Spoons
Mixing Bowls
Spatula
Mixer

Nutrition