Strawberry Crumble Bars
Ingredients
- For the crust:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoons salt
- For the strawberry layer:
- 3 cups cored & chopped strawberries, measured after chopping
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- For the streusel topping:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoons salt
Directions
-
Heat oven to 325 F.
-
Line a 9x13 baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on each side. Grease with butter or non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
-
In a large bowl using an electric or hand-held mixer on medium speed, beat together the butter and sugar until well combined.
-
Add vanilla and beat until combined.
-
Turn the mixer down to low and beat in the flour until combined.
-
Press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes. While it is baking, make the strawberry layer and topping.
-
To make the strawberry layer toss together the strawberries, cornstarch, sugar and lemon zest in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
-
To make the streusel topping, in a medium bowl stir together all the streusel ingredients using a large wooden spoon or rubber spatula. It will be crumbly and that’s okay.
-
After the bottom layer is done baking, remove it from the oven.
-
Carefully spoon the strawberry mixture over the shortbread base until it’s evenly covered. Then crumble the streusel layer over the strawberry layer.
-
Bake for 50-55 minutes until the streusel topping begins to turn golden brown and you can see the strawberry layer bubbling underneath.
-
Cool completely before cutting into bars. Tip: these will hold up best if you store them in the refrigerator. Enjoy!