These Fresh Strawberry Bars are absolutely delightful, featuring a luscious burst of sweet and juicy strawberries. These bars showcase a foundation of buttery oat biscuit base, culminating with a delectably crumbly topping. The beauty of this recipe lies in its simplicity – no need for a mixer, and the preparation process is swift. It’s worth noting that you need not restrict yourself solely to strawberries; this versatile Strawberry Bars recipe can accommodate a wide variety of fruits for an equally satisfying outcome.
STRAWBERRY BARS
Do you find yourself lacking a diverse selection of fresh strawberry recipes in your culinary repertoire? While I possess numerous methods for incorporating fresh strawberries into desserts, such as adorning stacks of pancakes and French toast enriched with maple syrup, or even nestled within delectable creations like the Strawberry Nutella French Toast roll ups, my range diminishes when it comes to utilizing them in cooked dishes. The Fresh Strawberry Bars recipe stands as one of the rare options at my disposal. This could be attributed to the considerable amount of strawberries required to impart a genuinely pronounced strawberry essence to baked goods. Consequently, I refrain from employing strawberries in loaf cakes akin to my Blueberry Lemon Loaf; my past attempts yielded unsatisfactory outcomes as the strawberries paled and released moisture, leading to doughy pockets within the bread.
Alternately, a method involves cooking down the strawberries with sugar to heighten their flavor before incorporating them into a recipe, such as in miniature pies—undeniably tantalizing!
Distinct from these techniques, the following recipe doesn’t mandate preliminary cooking of the strawberries before assembly. I begin by spreading a layer of jam onto the base to prevent the juices from saturating it. Subsequently, I scatter strawberries mixed with cornflour atop the jam layer, resulting in thickened juices during baking, yielding an almost jam-like consistency. Upon emerging from the oven, the bars exhibit a marvelous appearance, with the juices permeating the crumbly topping, appearing moist, yet possessing a jam-like quality. Interestingly, the edges of the bars even take on a somewhat candied texture—an aspect I particularly relish, although they tend to lodge themselves in my teeth!
Frequent readers familiar with the beloved Easiest Ever Raspberry Jam Bars will discover a kinship between that recipe and the one presented here. The base and topping employ the same composition, with the addition of fresh strawberries to create this delightful variation. To accommodate an array of other fruits, I’ve included supplementary notes within the recipe. The quantity of cornflour required hinges on the fruit’s juiciness; for whole fruits like blueberries and raspberries, omitting cornflour suffices, whereas for juicy, diced fruits like peaches and apricots, a modest increase is recommended.
A captivating transformation transpires when apples are employed—a metamorphosis into apple crumble bars, with the infusion of complementary spices. A separate post dedicated to the alluring Apple Crumble Bars might just be in order!
Wishing you a splendid weekend ahead! If you can spare a mere 12 minutes, consider crafting these Fresh Strawberry Bars for a delightful indulgence.
