Strawberry Bars

48
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes

Strawberry Bars combine a buttery shortbread crust with strawberry pie filling and a sweet vanilla almond glaze for an easy, fruity summertime dessert!

Part cookie bar, part pie, and completely delectable, these Strawberry Bars are a perfect on-the-go treat just like Cherry Bars and Blackberry Crumb Bars. Easier to serve than slicing a pie, fruity Bar Recipes are perfect for sharing at a picnic!

slice of strawberry bar on marble board

STRAWBERRY BARS

Strawberry Bars have a double layer of buttery shortbread crust that comes together quickly with a handful of pantry ingredients. The tasty spin on these bars is using a touch of almond extract to bring out the flavors of the strawberries and vanilla. Almond extract has a fruity scent when distilled down, and a little goes a long way to tie together the sweet and tart flavors of this dessert bar.

Almond extract is also used along with lemon juice in the powdered sugar glaze for even more flavor. Adding lemon zest to the dough and lemon juice to the glaze brightens up the flavors and lends a tart contrast to the sweetness of the strawberry filling. To make sure the glaze is the right consistency, add the milk one tablespoon at a time until it is just thin enough to drizzle on the bars without being so thin that it disappears into them. 

MORE FRUITY BAR RECIPES

You can opt for a fresh strawberry filling when they are in season, but canned strawberry pie filling makes these bars even easier, and lets you enjoy them year round! 

Just like strawberry pie, these bars are delicious topped with Vanilla Ice Cream or Whipped Cream. Serve them warm from the oven with vanilla ice cream and save a portion of the pan to glaze and keep for later. This recipe makes a generous 48 servings, so enjoy some and freeze the rest for a quick snack or dessert for up to 6 months.

 

Strawberry Bars with icing drizzle

VARIATIONS ON STRAWBERRY BARS

  • Pie Filling: You can use any pie filling you’d like with these bars. In the fall, try Apple Pie Filling or pumpkin pie filling with a tablespoon of Pumpkin Pie Spice. For more summer berry fillings, try blueberry, blackberry, or cherry pie filling.
  • Strawberry Chocolate Bars: For a decadent spin, sprinkle ½ – 1 cup of mini chocolate chips over the strawberry pie filling before topping with the dough. Or replace the icing with a drizzle of Chocolate Ganache.
  • Fresh Strawberries: To use fresh strawberries, stir together 2 cups of washed and diced strawberries, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a medium bowl. Let sit for a few minutes for the juices to seep out and thicken with cornstarch before spreading over dough.
  • Nuts: For more almond flavor, sprinkle sliced almonds over the top layer of dough. You can also use other nuts like chopped pecans, walnuts, or peanuts.
  • Crumble: Instead of the cookie dough topping, make a streusel crumble with brown sugar, butter, and flour. Sprinkle crumb topping evenly over pie filling.
  • Mini Pie Cups: Bake Strawberry Bars in a muffin tin for a little pie cup. Prepare dough as usual and divide (in batches) into a 12 cup greased or lined muffin tin. You should yield about 36-40 mini pie cups. Top with strawberry filling and dough, and bake for 22-25 minutes.

MORE EASY SUMMER DESSERTS

HOW TO STORE STRAWBERRY BARS

  • Serve: These Strawberry Bars can be at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Line container with paper towels to absorb moisture.
  • Store: Refrigerate Strawberry Bars in an airtight container for up to 1 week. For best taste and texture, bring to room temperature before serving.
  • Freeze: Cool Bars completely, cut, and freeze Strawberry Bars in a single layer on a baking sheet for 1 hour. Transfer to a sealed container or freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.

Top down of strawberry bar slice

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Strawberry Bars

Strawberry Bars combine a buttery shortbread crust with strawberry pie filling and a sweet vanilla almond glaze for an easy, fruity summertime dessert!
Yield 48
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup butter softened
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 large eggs room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 lemon zested
  • 3 cups flour
  • 2 cans strawberry pie filling 21 ounces each

Glaze:

  • 1 cup confectioners' sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2-3 tablespoons whole milk

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 15x10 sheet pan with baking spray.
  • In a stand mixer, cream butter, sugar, and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy.
  • Add eggs, one at a time, then add extracts and lemon zest.
  • Gradually fold in flour to butter mixture until combined and dough forms.
  • Press 3 cups dough into prepared pan.
  • Spread with strawberry pie filling covering all the dough evenly.
  • Drop remaining dough by teaspoonfuls over filling.
  • Bake 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown.
  • Cool completely in pan before glazing.

Glaze:

  • In a small bowl, mix confectioners' sugar, extracts, lemon juice, and enough milk to reach desired consistency.
  • Drizzle over top of cooled bars.

Nutrition

Calories: 134kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 91mg | Potassium: 30mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 138IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 1mg

Strawberry Bars collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. Already made these bars 2 days in a row! My kids who are picky loved it! These are also perfect with tea. Thanks for your awesome recipe!

  2. Wonderfully delicious! I love the drizzle of icing. Really pulls it all together! I’ll definitely need to try this with apple pie filling, too, as my kids LOVE apple pie!