Strawberry Crumble Bars

Name: Strawberry Crumble Bars
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 85 min
Ingredients: 16 Ounces (454g) Fresh Strawberries (see note for frozen) (roughly chopped); 1/4 Cup + 2 Tablespoons (75g) White Granulated Sugar; 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch; Fine Zest 1/2 Lemon; 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice; 1 Cup (227g) Unsalted Butter (2 sticks) (cubed, room temp); 2 Cups + 1 Tablespoon (248g) All-Purpose Flour (measured with kitchen scale); 1 Cup (113g) Powdered Sugar or 1/2 Cup (100g) Granulated White Sugar; 1/2 Teaspoon Fine Sea Salt; 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Paste or Extract; 1 to 1 1/3 Cup Strawberry Jam (recipe from above or store-bought, see note below); 1/4 Cup (20g) Sliced Almonds (optional); Powdered Sugar (optional, for dusting)

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These irresistible Strawberry Crumble Bars are made with a buttery shortbread crust, a layer of homemade strawberry jam, and then topped with more shortbread crumbs and sliced almonds. It's baked until just golden, and finished with a dusting of powdered sugar right before serving.

Strawberry crumble bars features a buttery shortbread crust, followed by a layer of homemade strawberry jam, shortbread crumbs, sliced almonds and then finished with a dusting of powdered sugar and cut into squares.

I purposely made these strawberry crumble bars thin because they are quite rich and buttery. I used a 9x9 inch (23cm) baking pan, but if you'd prefer thicker shortbread bars, you can use an 8x8 inch (20cm) pan.

For more shortbread recipes, try my homemade twix bars, macadamia nut shortbread, chocolate chip and toffee shortbread, and nutella linzer.

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♡ Why You Will Love These Strawberry Crumble Bars 🍓
Ingredient Notes
Substitutions & Variations
How to Make Strawberry Crumble Bars
⭐️ Expert Tips
Storage
FAQ
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📖 Recipe

♡ Why You Will Love These Strawberry Crumble Bars 🍓

Easy to make. These strawberry crumb bars so easy to prepare because you only need to make one shortbread dough for the crust and topping. We're also making a simple strawberry jam filling, but you can use store-bought jam to save on time and to make it even easier.
Simple ingredients. Shortbread dough consists of simple pantry ingredients including butter, flour, sugar and salt. The strawberry jam also only contains a handful of ingredients.
Texture. The shortbread crust is melt-in-your-mouth tender, which pairs perfectly with the jammy strawberry filling and crunchy sliced almonds.
Perfect anytime of the year. The jam can be made with fresh or frozen strawberries. Plus, you can easily customize it for any fruit jam.

Ingredient Notes

Here are some notes about all the ingredients used in these Strawberry Crumble Bars. Quantities and full instructions are in the recipe card below!

Strawberry crumble bars ingredients which include, all-purpose flour, powdered sugar, unsalted butter, vanilla paste, salt and homemade strawberry jam.

Homemade Strawberry Jam - I used fresh strawberries, but you can also use frozen.
Unsalted Butter - We'll be using room temperature butter for these strawberry shortbread bars.
All-Purpose Flour - I always recommend using a kitchen scale to measure your flour with for best results. Adding too much flour can make the bars hard and dry.
Powdered Sugar - Makes the cookie bars tender.
Vanilla - For flavor. You can use vanilla paste or vanilla extract.
Salt - Balances the flavors and sweetness.
Sliced Almonds - Totally optional, but it adds a nutty crunch.

*See recipe card for quantities.

Substitutions & Variations

Strawberry Jam - You can swap out for other fruit jams such as raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, apricot, cranberry, cherry or orange.
Unsalted Butter - You can use salted butter, just make sure to omit the additional salt.
Powdered Sugar - You can also use granulated white sugar, but reduce it to ½ cup.
Vanilla - You can use vanilla paste or vanilla extract. You can also use a combination of vanilla and almond extract.
Sliced Almonds - You can use other nuts like, walnut and pecan or omit it completely.

How to Make Strawberry Crumble Bars

Here are step-by-step photos and instructions on how to make these Strawberry Crumble Bars! Please find detailed instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.

Chunks of fresh strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest and lemon juice are in a small saucepan.

Step 1. To a small saucepan, add diced strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest and lemon juice.

Strawberry jam is cooked until thick and jammy in a small saucepan.

Step 2. Cook over medium-low heat until thick and jammy. Transfer to a bowl and cool completely in the fridge.

Softened cubed unsalted butter, powdered sugar, salt and vanilla paste are in a large glass mixing bowl.

Softened butter, sugar, salt and vanilla paste is whipped until smooth in a large glass mixing bowl.

Step 3. In a large bowl, and using an electric mixer, beat together softened butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt.

All purpose flour is sifted into a large bowl with whipped butter and sugar.

Buttery shortbread dough is mixed with an electric hand mixer until crumbly in a large glass mixing bowl.

Step 4. In 2 additions, sift in flour, and mixing on the lowest speed, mix until just combined. Mixture will be crumbly, which is what we want.

Buttery shortbread crumbs are divided to bake as a crust and then used as a topping.

Step 5. Reserve about a cup of the shortbread crumbs.

Buttery shortbread dough is pressed into a 9x9 inch metal baking pan and ready to be baked.

Step 6. Evenly press the remaining dough into a 9-inch baking pan (23cm).

Buttery shortbread dough is pre baked in a 9x9 inch metal baking pan and sitting on a wire rack to cool.

Step 7. Prebake the crust in a preheated oven at 350f (180c) for 10 to 14 minutes. Let cool for for 15 minutes.

Strawberry crumble bars are made with a prebaked layer of shortbread, then topped with homemade strawberry jam.

Step 8. Next, spread cooled strawberry jam over the shortbread crust.

Strawberry crumble bars feature a prebaked layer of shortbread, then layered with homemade strawberry jam, shortbread crumbs and sliced almonds.

Step 9. Then top with reserved shortbread crumbs and sliced almonds if using.

Strawberry crumble bars are baked until just golden on top and is bubbly in a 9x9 inch baking pan.

Step 10. Bake in a preheat oven at 350f (180c) for 30 to 40 minutes. It's ready when top is lightly golden. Cool completely before slicing!

⭐️ Expert Tips

Use a kitchen scale to weigh all your ingredients. Baking in grams, rather than volume, is the best and most accurate way to bake! All my recipes include gram conversions based on King Arthur's Weight Chart.

If you are not using a kitchen scale, measure your flour correctly. Fluff and aerate your flour first, then spoon into your measuring cup and finally level off with the back of a butter knife. Do not pack it in as it will add too much flour.

Line your pan with parchment paper for easy removal. Clean up will also be a breeze.

Prebake the crust. This will ensure that the crust is cooked through.

Make the strawberry jam in advanced. I like to make the jam a few hours in advance or even the day before, so it has enough time to cool. You can also make the jam and store it tightly in the fridge for about a week.

Cool bars completely before slicing. This will give you clean slices.

Storage

Room Temperature - Keep in airtight container at room temperature for 2 days.
Refrigerator - Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Freezer - Wrap bars individually in plastic wrap, then place them in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 2 months. To thaw, let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

FAQ

Why are my cookie bars crumbly?

If your bars are dry/hard and crumbly, the culprit is usually too much flour. I always recommend using a kitchen scale so you don't add too much.

Troubleshooting - After mixing in the flour, squeeze a small amount of dough in your hand and if it doesn't hold together, you can add a few teaspoons of milk until it does.

Do I have to prebake my crust?

Pre-baking the crust for just 10 minutes will ensure the crust gets cooked through.

Can I use store-bought jam?

You sure can!

Can I bake these in an 8x8 inch pan?

Yes, if you'd prefer thicker shortbread bars, you can use an 8x8 inch (20cm) pan.

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