I live in Florida permanently now, and while there are times when I miss experiencing the seasons, I definitely miss the cold winters! I love Florida winters and appreciate buying locally grown produce like tomatoes, greens, and squash year-round. However, it takes some getting used to the changing times for some fruits and vegetables. The peak of our strawberry season is late February or early March and you can find many strawberry festivals throughout Central Florida during this time.
When strawberries are in season, I enjoy them as much as possible. I love eating them raw, sliced with a little sugar and balsamic vinegar, but I also love cooking them in the oven. These bars are easy to make, taste great, and freeze well. You can drizzle the tops with a little frosting or leave them as is. I also love a little powdered sugar sprinkled on top!
Debora Mele
ingredients
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3 cups all-purpose flour
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1 teaspoon baking powder
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Pinch of salt
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1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
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2 Large Eggs At Room Temperature
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1 cup light brown sugar
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2 teaspoons vanilla extract
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3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
Filling:
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4 cups chopped strawberries
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1/3 cup granulated sugar
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1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
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1 teaspoon lemon zest
Lemon Drizzle: (optional)
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1 cup powdered sugar
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2 teaspoons of lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper with an overhang and spray the sides and bottom with baking spray.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium-sized bowl.
- In a food processor, add the butter and flour mixture and blend until you have pea-sized tumblers.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla.
- Add the egg mixture to the food processor and blend until it comes together like a dough.
- Remove 2 cups of dough and set aside for garnish.
- Press the remaining dough into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- In a bowl. Mix the filling ingredients together and then spread them over the dough.
- Add the walnuts to the remaining mixture and stir to combine.
- Crumble the pasta mixture over the strawberries.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until bars are golden and filling is bubbling.
- Cool completely.
- Stir together rain mix if using until blended.
- Use a fork to sprinkle the icing over the tops of the bars.
- Refrigerate to let the icing set, then slice and enjoy!
Nutritional information:
Product: 9
Portions: 2 Bars
Quantity per serving:
Calories: 600Totally fat: 29 gSaturated fats: 14 gTrans fats: 0 gUnsaturated fats: 13 gCholesterol: 96 mgSodium: 96 mgCarbohydrates: 80 gFiber: 3 gSugar: 43 gProtein: 8 g
