Strawberry Lemon Bars

These Strawberry Lemon Bars are soft and dense, with lots of fresh strawberry chunks, and a slight lemony tang.

I’m ready for a little Spring in my life, how about you? Winter = over it.

These bars make the perfect spring dessert, because the baking process brings out the flavor in pre-season berries, making them juicy and sweet.

Plus, the vibrant pink color would make for a lovely Valentine’s Day dessert, don’t you think?

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How to Make Strawberry Lemon Bars

Make the Dough

The thick dough for these Strawberry Lemon Bars comes together quickly and easily, by combing butter, sugar, flour, eggs fresh lemon juice, salt, and baking powder.

Fresh strawberries are diced and then gently folded into the batter.

The thick batter is then pressed into an 8×8 baking pan. An offset spatula works well to make sure it is evenly spread into the pan.

Look at all those berries dotting the batter!

After baking, they become sweet and juicy specks all throughout the bars!

Bake & Cool

The bars are baked at 350°F for approximately 30 minutes, then cooled in the pan for a few minutes before using the parchment paper liner to gently lift the bars from the pan, so they can cool completely on a wire rack.

Glaze

The glaze is made by pressing a few berries through a fine-mesh sieve to release some juice and pulp.

The thick berry juice is then mixed into powdered sugar, along with a small amount of lemon juice, to make a vibrant pink glaze.

You can adjust the amount of strawberry juice and lemon juice to change the color of the frosting to your liking.

More berry juice will make a bright pink frosting. Use less berry juice (or none at all), and more lemon juice to make a light pink or white frosting.

Frost the Strawberry Lemon Bars

When the bars are completely cooled, the glaze gets spread across the top. Allowing some to drip down the sides adds a pretty effect!

I cut this batch into 9 bars because they are so good, you’re going to want a nice, hefty piece.

Of course, you can cut them into 12 smaller bars if you prefer.

The texture of these Strawberry Lemon Bars is moist, dense, and chewy. There’s nothing dry and crumbly here!

The sweet strawberry flavor offset by the slight tanginess of the lemon juice is the perfect flavor combination.

I mean, really. These bars are certain to become a new family favorite. What’s not to love?

Strawberry Lemon Bars

Niky @ The House on Silverado

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Total Time 45 mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 12 bars

Calories 321 kcal

Ingredients

  

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For the bars:

• 1 cup unsalted butter softened
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup lemon juice freshly squeezed
• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 cup fresh strawberries diced

For the glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar sifted
• 1 TBSP lemon juice
• 1 TBSP strawberry juice from 2 mashed berries (instructions below)

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350F.
• Line a 9 inch square baking pan with parchment paper, allowing some to overlap the edges. This will help you lift the bars from the pan later.
• Add butter and sugar to mixer bowl and cream until fluffy. Beat in the egg.
• Add the lemon juice and beat until mostly incorporated.
• In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the wet ingredients, mixing just until flour is combined.
• With a spatula, gently fold in the diced strawberries.
• Spread the mixture into the baking pan. An offset spatula is helpful in getting the thick batter to spread evenly into each corner.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes, until lightly golden. A toothpick inserted in the center will be moist, but not wet. Be careful not to overbake or you will end up with a dry bar.
• While the bars cool in the pan, finely chop 2 large strawberries. Using a fine mesh strainer, mash the berry pieces with the back of a spoon until you get about 1 tablespoon of strawberry juice.
• Whisk together the sugar, strawberry juice, and lemon juice until smooth. If the glaze is too thin, add more sugar in small increments. If it's too thick, add more lemon juice.
• Use the parchment paper to remove the slightly cooled bars to a rack. Allow bars to cool fully before spreading with glaze. Slice into bars after glaze is set.

Notes

You can adjust the color of your glaze by adding more/less strawberry juice.  For a light pink glaze, use less.  For a vibrant pink, add more strawberry juice and reduce the amount of lemon juice.  

Store these bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days.  For longer storage, refrigerate.

• Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be viewed as an estimate. Ingredients can vary and The House on Silverado makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.

Nutrition

Serving: 1barCalories: 321kcalCarbohydrates: 42gProtein: 3gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 54mgSodium: 106mgPotassium: 78mgFiber: 1gSugar: 24gVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 23mgIron: 1mg

Keyword Dessert Bar, strawberries

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

If you give these bars a try, I’d love for you to give them a star rating, and come back here to leave a comment to let me know how you liked them. 💕

Happy Baking,

P.S. If you like strawberry desserts, you might also be interested in these Strawberry Crumble Bars…

Strawberry Crumble Bars

These fresh Strawberry Crumble Bars are the perfect summer dessert– easy to make, and filled with fresh summer strawberries.

Check out this recipe

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