Who doesn’t want a sweet, savory treat on a warm spring or summer day? The staff at A Magazine definitely does!

For this week’s “In the Kitchen with A,” I made delicious Strawberry Crumb Bars because desserts are sweet for the soul.

Strawberries just remind me of summer and walking in the beautiful sunlight. These bars are great for a spring before school’s out get-together or for a summer block party! Any strawberry dessert always makes me reminisce; As a kid I remember eating strawberries and angel cake with my grandma. These strawberry crumb bars brought back those memories.

These are simple, quick to make and so sweet.

I first combined all the sugar, flour, baking powder and salt into a medium-sized bowl. Then, in a small bowl I whisked an egg and vanilla extract together. Then, poured them into a medium bowl. I worked the mixture into dough and set the dough on the bottom of an 8 x 8 sized square pan. I chopped up 2 cups worth of strawberries and put them into a small bowl with sugar and cornstarch. It created a beautiful ruby-red color; I wanted to just eat the strawberries right then and there.

But I restrained myself because I knew the bars would be worth it!

Next, I poured the strawberry filling over the bottom dough layer. The recipe says to use half the dough for the bottom layer and half the dough for the top layer, but I found that it wasn’t enough. So, I made another batch of dough (using the same recipe) for the top layer. Once I made the other batch of dough, I covered the strawberry filling with it.

I patiently waited 45 minutes as the smell of sweet strawberries breathed into my kitchen. I watched as the crust became a golden brown and took the pan out of the oven.

The end product was moist and delicious, Enjoy!

Ingredients

•       ½ cup white sugar
•       ½ teaspoon baking powder
•       1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
•       ¼ teaspoon salt
•       ½ cup (8 Tablespoons) butter (1 stick butter)
•       1 egg, beaten
•       1 teaspoon vanilla
•       2 cups fresh strawberries
•       ⅓ cup white sugar
•       2 teaspoons cornstarch

Instructions

1.     Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Either grease with butter and flour, or spray with baking spray, an 8×8 inch pan, or place parchment paper on the bottom of the pan.
2.     Chop the strawberries and set aside.
3.     In a medium bowl, stir together white sugar, flour, baking powder and salt.
4.     In a measuring cup or small bowl, beat an egg with a fork. Add the egg and vanilla to the flour mixture. Using a fork or a pastry cutter cut the butter into the flour mixture. Work with the dough until the pieces are very small. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of the dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.
5.     In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch. Stir in the strawberries. Spoon the strawberry mixture evenly over the bottom crust.
6.     Crumble the remaining dough over the strawberry-filling layer.
7.     Bake in a preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly golden brown. (My oven runs hot and baked in about 38 minutes.)
8.     Cool completely before cutting into squares. I recommend refrigerating until ready to serve.

Click here for recipe.