Shortbread is a true tea and coffee treat! Whenever I mix shortbread with strawberries, I always think of My Fair Lady… “Those strawberry tarts are first rate. I wonder where Mrs. Pierce gets them?”
Strawberry Crumb Bars
The Recipe
Grease a 9″ x 9″ baking pan. Cut a piece of parchment paper 9″ wide (to fit the pan), with a few inches of overhang on the other two sides. These will be the handles you will use to lift the bar out of the pan. Smooth the paper into the pan and set aside.
In a bowl, whisk together:
2 cups flour {You can do a half-and-half mixture of freshly ground wheat flour and unbleached white flour, or all freshly ground soft (pastry) wheat flour, or all unbleached white flour}
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
Whisk together. Add 3/4 cup butter, slightly softened and cut into small pieces. Use a fork or pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Press a little more than half of the crumb mixture in the bottom of the pan. Cover with about 1 1/4 cups of strawberry preserves; you can adjust this as you wish, more or less. I used about 1 cup of strawberry jam, but I think I will use 1 1/3 cups next time!
Sprinkle the rest of the crumb mixture evenly over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, just until the top is lightly golden brown. Don’t over bake these; the lighter they are, the better.
       
Cool completely in the pan. Lift bar out of the pan by the parchment paper handles and cut into small squares.
       
I loved these bars, and they are so easy to make. I thought of some yummy substitutions to try next time!
~ Raspberry Cheesecake Bars: substitute 1/4 cup of the butter for 1/4 cup of cream cheese. Use raspberry jam instead of strawberry. Perhaps even press some white chocolate chips into the top of the crumb mixture before baking… oh yummy!
~ Chocolate Coconut Bars: add 2/3 cup of chopped toasted coconut to the crumb mixture. Sprinkle 1 cup of dark chocolate or butterscotch chips over the pressed crumb mixture. Top with the remaining crumb mixture.
Jessica