Strawberry Crumb Bars

One of my favourite ways to use fresh strawberries straight from the farmer’s market. This dessert can use up any fruit you have on hand though, and is a delicious treat in the summer time. Enjoy guys!

INGREDIENTS

Crust

½ cup granulated sugar
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed in advance

Jammy Top

2 cups of fresh strawberries, diced
(you could use blueberries, raspberries, peaches, blackberries, literally any stonefruit or berry would be great for this recipe!)
2 tbsp of cornstarch
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Preheat your oven to 375°F. Prepare a 8×8 baking dish by lining it with parchment paper allowing the edges to hang over the pan for easy removal. Spray the lining with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, add the ½ cup sugar, flour, baking powder and salt and whisk until combined. Then, add the egg and vanilla. Mix well again.

The next step is similar to the steps when making the dough from my Rogaliki recipe. Using your fingers, pinch the cold butter into the flour. You are looking for the texture of tiny, partially broken bits of butter to still be visible in the flour.

[TIP] I like to buy the sticks of butter when I bake as it’s easy for measuring and is much easier to work with than a cold butter brick.

Next, take half of the flour mixture and pack it down in the bottom of your pan, pressing firmly down with your palm.
Reserve the remaining crumbs for the topping.

In another small bowl, combine your diced strawberries, 1/4 cup of sugar, and cornstarch. Add lemon zest if interested!
Mix until the strawberries are coated well and then spread the strawberry mix over the bottom layer. Sprinkle the rest of your flour mixture evenly over the top of your strawberries to create that crumbly topping we all know and love.