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Strawberry Lemonade Bars

Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings 12
Author Amanda - A Treat Life

Ingredients

For the berry filling:

  • 2 1/2 cups (350g) sliced strawberries
  • 2 1/2 tbsps (37g) granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch

For the crust:

  • 2 cups (256g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 3/4 cup (170g) cold butter, cubed
  • 1 egg slightly whisked
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup lemon curd (homemade or store-bought)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375F/ 190C. Butter or spray with a non-stick baking spray an 8 or 9-inch square baking pan, then line with parchment paper so it comes up the sides slightly. (This will make it easier to remove the whole pan of bars for easier cutting.)

  2. In a medium bowl, gently combine all the ingredients for the strawberry filling and set aside.

  3. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, add the flour, sugar, lemon zest, salt and cold butter and pulse until it resembles coarse crumbs. Then add the egg, vinegar, and vanilla and pulse a few more times until it just starts to come together. It should still be somewhat shaggy. If it's too dry add another teaspoon of vinegar.

  4. Dump half of the dough mixture into the pan, and press down so it forms an even crust on the bottom of the pan. (The bottom of a glass cup can help with this.)

  5. Then spread the 3/4 cup of lemon curd evenly over the crust and spoon the strawberry mixture on top of the curd.

  6. Evenly crumble the remaining half of the dough over the berries. (Leaving some of the dough in bigger chunks is not a bad thing.)

  7. Place the pan in the refrigerator and chill about 15-20 minutes. (The freezer can be used to speed the process up.) Then place in the center of the preheated oven and bake about 55 minutes until the filling is bubbly and the crust is golden brown on top.

  8. When finished baking, transfer the pan to a rack to cool. Then place the cooled pan in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes if desired for neater looking cut bars. (If you do this, you should be able to gently loosen the edges of the crust from the pan using a butter knife or offset spatula, then pull out the parchment tabs to release the whole pan of bars and cut as you wish.)

Recipe Notes

*If making the lemon curd yourself, here's a great recipe- https://atreatlife.com/2019/03/30/lemon-curd/

*I cut the strawberries into thin slices to be able to see the pretty shape better, but you can quarter them too. 

*chilling the bars before and after baking helps to keep the dough from spreading too much on top and makes it easier to cut them afterwards.