Strawberry Crumb Bars

These bars are absolutely delicious. They were a super huge hit at my house, and disappeared in roughly 24 hours flat. Eat them warm, room temp, or chilled. Any version is a tasty treat. The tender, lightly sweetened strawberry filling bound together by a shortbread crust and crumbly shortbread topping is perfection. Sort of like strawberry shortcake, in bar form.

If you happen to have a pound of strawberries in need of a home - give this one a try soon!

These don't take long to whip together either, so they're the perfect dessert to pop in the oven just before you start your dinner prep. Then they can cool while dinner is baking (if you're using the oven) and they're ready to serve still warm once dinner is done!

Strawberry Crumb Bars from Tastes of Lizzy T

Ingredients
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cold
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 lb fresh strawberries, stems removed and diced small
2 tsp cornstarch
1/3 cup granulated sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 and generously spray an 8x8 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray or baker's spray. Set aside.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a medium size bowl: sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine. 
3. Cut in the butter to the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
4. Make a small well in the center and pour in the egg and vanilla. Whisk the egg and vanilla together before blending into the dough with a fork. It will be mostly dry and crumbly still.
5. Spread half of the pastry mixture into the bottom of the prepared 8x8 pan and press down firmly for the bottom crust.
6. In a medium bowl, toss the diced strawberries with the 2 tsp cornstarch and 1/3 cup of sugar until evenly combined. Spread strawberries over bottom crust and then sprinkle remaining pastry mixture over the top of the strawberries.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, until bars are bubbly and the top / edges of the crust are golden brown.
8. Allow to cool almost completely before slicing and serving to allow the bars to set up.

Suggestion - serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!