Strawberry Crumble Bars

These Strawberry Crumble Bars are what you want to make as soon say you find Spring’s gorgeous strawberries at the market. They are made with an oat base and crumble and are better when chilled. But I guarantee they’ll be gone before it’s totally chilled.

Originally published on March 25, 2019 and updated on May 19, 2020. I just love these bars! I bought a couple of containers of oats for my pantry for staying home these last couple of months. In case you happen to have extra oats around these days in your pantry, you have to try these delightful bars.

So it goes that when you live in Florida, you will find in season strawberries in January. It’s no wonder that we are baking with strawberries all winter long.  When March arrives, and the strawberry recipes start to appear, I feel as if I’m already onto summer recipes. Could there be a way to share another strawberry recipe here?

Just when it seems I’m getting into a rhythm sharing with all of you all that we’ve been baking and cooking here, I decide that I want to revamp the blog. This is the new look of the blog with a new logo (thank you to my precious daughter Gabby!). Gabby is joining the Savoring Italy team and will be working hard on some new photography and video. Some of that is coming up soon! I took these strawberry bar photos and she did the edits. We hope you enjoy this new design of Savoring Italy. On to the recipe!

When it seemed as if we were entering days of 80F temps we were hit with a big cold front and it seems like winter just decided to pay us another short visit. If that is the case no matter where you live, make it feel like a warm spring day and brighten it up with these Strawberry Crumble Bars.

How do you make Strawberry Crumble Bars?

Let’s move on to this super easy recipe that makes the most sweet and juicy strawberry bars. They really are very simple to put together. It all begins with your crust and topping.

Crumb Topping for Strawberry Crumble Bars

As it is with so many crumb bar recipes, the base is also used as a lovely crumb topping. First step is to mix the crumb toppings together. Next, you press half into the bottom of your lined baking pan (I used parchment paper).

Fresh Strawberry Filling

Here is how you make the strawberry filling. You just have to combine the berries in the cornstarch, sugar and lemon zest.  The cornstarch is essential in the filling as it is used to thicken them up. Once the oat based crust is ready and pressed into your baking pan, spoon the juicy berries on top of the crust.

Once the berries are spooned into the crust, add on the other half of the crumble on top.

The final step is to let them chill (makes them easier to slice)and you could drizzle on the glaze. They are great even without the glaze.

This is a recipe that was found on Smitten Kitchen and it’s recommended to chill the bars. From reading through her post and comments I think there were some that wanted the bars to be more firm bar texture.

Fresh Strawberry Dessert

I’m going to be completely honest and say that the first time these were made that not one of my beast family members awaited for them to chill. As soon as I took the last photos there were plates being passed around and juicy crumble slices being devoured by one and all (and it was not totally chilled, as I didn’t wait for that to take the photos).

They are so good!! If you could resist eating them before they’re totally chilled they will be more firm and you could even serve them with a scoop of ice-cream. Or you could enjoy them the next day for breakfast (they have oats!) with your favorite yogurt. No matter how you decide to do it, it will be a good thing!!

Other strawberry recipes

• Strawberry Yogurt Cake (one of my favorites!)
• Fresh Strawberry Bundt Cake
• Strawberry Monkey Bread
• Strawberry Crostata
• Vegan Strawberry Banana Bread

Happy Baking! xx

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Strawberry Crumble Bars

These Strawberry Crumble Bars are what you want to make as soon say you find Spring’s gorgeous strawberries at the market. They are made with an oat base and crumble and are better when chilled. But I guarantee they’ll be gone before it’s totally chilled.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time35 mins

Total Time45 mins

Course: Dessert

Keyword: Oats, Strawberries

Servings: 16 bars

Author: Lora

Ingredients

For the crust and crumble:

• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter melted (I used Earth Balance Vegan sticks)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the filling:

• 2 cups finely chopped strawberries
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Zest of one lemon around 1 tablespoon, and juice will be for the glaze
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

For the glaze:

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice from the lemon zested

Instructions

For the crust:

• In a medium sized bowl, stir together the oats, flour, brown sugar, and salt. Add in the melted butter (I used Earth Balance Vegan sticks)and vanilla; stir until combined.
• Reserve about 1/3 of the oat mixture for the topping. Spoon in the remaining 2/3 of the crumble mix into your prepared baking pan and press to form a crust. Set aside the pan and make the filling.

For the filling:

• In a small bowl, stir together combine the strawberries with the sugar, lemon zest and cornstarch. Spoon the strawberry filling over the crust and spread evenly with a spatula.
• For the crumble:
• Sprinkle the rest of the crumble mixture over the strawberry filling and try to cover as much of the strawberries as you can. There will be spots that aren’t completely covered.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes until the the crust and the crumble are golden and strawberries bubble just a little (mine was ready at just about 32 minutes. Every oven is different). Cool completely before trying to remove from the pan. Let chill for a few hours in the refrigerator before slicing or you could dive right in as we did. If you choose to not wait, it will be very tricky to slice them and they will not stay intact.

For the glaze:

• In a small bowl whisk together the confectioner’s sugar and lemon juice. Add more juice if it is too thick and add a little bit more confectioner’s sugar if you need it to be a little thicker. Adjust to how you like your glaze to be. Drizzle the glaze over the chilled bars, slice and enjoy!

Notes

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