No? I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that, you like them? I thought you liked that? Listen, if you have a problem with rich little crumb squares and the slight tartness of strawberries, tell me. No, not breakfast technically, but I say it’s after dinner somewhere. Mmhmm, with sweet and gooey strawberry centers. Uh huh, they do have that buttery shortbread flavor. So please enjoy these strawberry crumb bars. Because I want to set a better tone for our weekly dates. Because I really want to love you like I did when we first met in 1985. So, I guess…well…I’m asking you to put a little more skip in your step. Some things are simply too hard to change.

Or maybe, if I didn’t drink a Diet A&W root beer while reclining in my fluffy bed reading blogs at 11pm, I’d have less indigestion and better breath. But you know how I love less than credible journalism. Maybe if I didn’t binge watch past episodes of The View and E! News Weekend on Sunday night and stay up too late studying celebrity gossip, I’d wake up earlier. I mean, I spend all weekend thinking about you, making myself pretty for your arrival, dreaming up what we’ll do together…doing happy dances in my own personal space on Sunday morning just anticipating waking up to you.Īnd then…you let me down. And that is: you just don’t treat me as well as I think you should. Aaanywho…Juuust wanted to touch base with you about something I’ve been thinking long and hard about lately. They can be stored safely for at least 4 days.First, hi, how are you? Tired? What’s that, you didn’t sleep well? Ah, I’m sorry to hear it. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.Leave to cool in the pan completely before cutting into 12 squares to serve.Bake for 45-50 minutes or until golden.Sprinkle the remaining crumble mixture over the strawberries.Slice the strawberries and dot them over the jam.Spread the jam over the yogurt mixture.Spread the yogurt mixture over the crust. In another bowl, mix together the yogurt, sugar, and cornstarch.(You can use the flat bottom of a measuring cup to press the crust). It looks like it won’t stick together, but it will. Tip the remaining mixture into the prepared pan and spread out evenly.Set aside 1 cup of the mixture for topping.(I use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment but can be made by hand). In a large bowl, combine together the flour, rolled oats, sugar, salt, and baking powder.Īdd the soft butter and vanilla extract.Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with paper parchment.* (see note).You can sub in vanilla yogurt if that’s what you have, just use a little bit less sugar than the recipe calls for. Add a little bit of sugar for a touch of sweet and a bit of cornstarch to help thicken it up as it bakes. Yogurt makes such a great pairing for berries. Using the bottom of a measuring cup is a great way to apply even pressure when making a crust like this. It may look too crumbly to come together, but it will. Set aside a bit for crumbling over the top of the bars and use the rest to form the crust. You can accomplish that with a pastry cutter, mixer or spatula. You combine butter with flour, oatmeal, sugar, vanilla and a bit of baking powder until the mixture is crumbly. It is the perfect way to hold it all together and complement the filling. The buttery crumbs that make the crust and topping for these sweet bars are part streusel with an oatmeal nod to crisps. They are wonderful on their own, but could be served with some strawberry orange sorbet or homemade strawberry sherbet for an extra special dessert. Add a few more crumbs to the top and you have a fabulous treat. It is all baked on a buttery crust with some oats thrown in for that great texture.

Strawberry crumb bars