Help us welcome another guest contributor, Laurie of Simply Scratch, who is sharing a wonderfully easy and impressive recipe for Strawberry White Chocolate Streusel Bars from TK member angpritch. It’s a great dessert for your cookout today. Welcome, Laurie and thank you, Angela!

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Strawberries! Beautiful, juicy, red and sweet strawberries! I don’t think there’s a single soul who doesn’t love this delectable fruit. They are possibly the most loved berry of all berries, whether it’s for their bright red color, the distinct aroma or juicy seedy texture … seriously, what’s not to love?

I always get excited when I start seeing them arrive at my local farm stands and supermarkets, because that means spring is here and summer is not too far behind it! Aside from fruit salads, shortcakes and chocolate-covered strawberries, you can use strawberries in anything from sweet and savory jams and salsas to crisp, fresh salads or cold frozen treats. I really haven’t met a strawberry recipe I didn’t fall in love with and devour, including this recipe from TK member angpritch (Angela). I mean, c’mon— strawberries, streusel, and white chocolate, all atop a crispy oatmeal cookie bar. This recipe had me at strawberry, and sold me with the white chocolate drizzle!  

To make these heavenly bars you will need old-fashioned oats, flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, chilled butter, strawberries, strawberry jam, lemon zest, and white chocolate. I was surprised by how much of the ingredients I already had in my pantry!

In a large bowl add the oats, flour and sugars. Make sure your oats are the old-fashioned kind and NOT quick oats, otherwise the oats will get mushy in the oven and not hold their shape.

Add the baking soda, baking powder and salt to the bowl.

Whisk the dry ingredients until combined.

Cut the chilled butter into pieces and toss them into the bowl as well.

With a pastry cutter or your fingers, cut the butter into the flour and oat mixture. I used my free hand to scrape down the sides of the bowl to better incorporate all of the dry ingredients with the butter.

There are a few things that are certain when I’m cutting in butter. First, I will be flinging flour-coated butter crumbles everywhere and making somewhat of a mess. And the moment my arm becomes tired, I will want to throw in the towel because I’m starting to feel I can no longer do it. It’s just at this point that it becomes easier and starts coming together. So hang in there—you’re almost done!

Stop once the crumbles are small and uniform, wipe your brow. Cutting in butter is no simple task!

Be sure to reserve a cup of that crumble mixture and set it off to the side. You will need it later in this recipe.

Pour the remaining crumble into an un-greased 10×15 jelly roll pan.

Press it down firmly with your fingers to form the crust and then place into a preheated 350ºF oven for 12–13 minutes. You’re not looking for it to brown; you just want it to firm up a little. 

While the crust is baking, hull and quarter about a pound of strawberries. You’ll need about two heaping cups of quartered strawberries. 

Then zest your lemon and measure out a teaspoon of the fragrant zest.

In a small sauce pan, heat a half cup of strawberry jam and the teaspoon of lemon zest over low heat until the jam is warm and spreadable. You could also warm the jam in the microwave for 30 seconds and then stir in the lemon zest, if you want fewer dirty dishes.

Drizzle and brush with a pastry brush or a rubber spatula to spread the jam all over the warm crust. (Note: The preserves I used were a bit chunkier and I found that I needed a little extra of it to cover my bars, so I added two more heaping tablespoonfuls.)

Then scatter the strawberries evenly on top of the jam.

Sprinkle with the reserved cup of the crumb mixture, and then place the pan back into the oven for 20–25 more minutes or until the streusel topping is a light golden brown.

Once baked, your home should smell amazing, but you’ll have to let the pan cool for one whole agonizing hour.

Once the strawberry bars are cooled, it’s time to prepare the white chocolate drizzle. Place the white chocolate into a glass bowl and set over a pot of simmering water. Gently stir until completely melted.

Angela’s recipe calls for 3 fluid ounces of white chocolate. I had whit chocolate chip on hand, so I used half a cup of that and added a tablespoon of coconut oil to the chips to thin it out a tad.

With a spoon, dip into the melted chocolate and drizzle across the tops of the bars. I cut my bars before drizzling, but you could also drizzle before cutting them. Whatever floats your boat!

While the chocolate cools, maybe go brew some coffee or tea, or pour a tall glass of milk!

Curl up in your favorite spot to enjoy every delicious morsel.

 
Thank you Angela for sharing this delicious and extremely fun-to-make recipe! My family and I truly enjoyed every piece right down to the last oatmeal crumble—a definite keeper!

Please be sure to visit Angela over at her blog, Recipes from My Mom, where she honors her mother’s memory with heartwarming stories and delicious mouth-watering recipes.

Printable Recipe

Strawberry White Chocolate Streusel Bars

by angpritch on March 22, 2011 in Brownies and Bars, Desserts March 22, 2011 Brownies and BarsDesserts

See post on angpritch’s site!

5.00 Mitt(s) 6 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 35 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 36

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Description

If a granola bar and strawberry shortcake had babies!

Ingredients

• 2 cups Old Fashioned Oats
• 1-½ cup All-purpose Flour
• ¾ cups White Sugar
• ¾ cups Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• ½ teaspoons Baking Soda
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• 1 cup Cold Butter, Cut Into Small Pieces
• 4 ounces, fluid Strawberry Jam
• 1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
• 2 cups Strawberries, Chopped Or Sliced
• 3 ounces, fluid White Chocolate

Preparation Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, both sugars, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
2. Add the chopped up cold butter and work it into the dry ingredients with your fingers or a pastry blender until the mixture looks like small crumbles. Reserve 1 cup of this mixture.
3. Dump the remaining crumb mixture into an ungreased 15” x 10” pan (jellyroll pan) and press it into an even crust.
4. Bake in 350 degree oven for 12-13 minutes or until it is firm to touch. Do not brown.
5. Remove pan from oven. Warm the jam in the microwave for 30 seconds and then stir in the lemon zest. Drizzle the warm jam over the warm crust. Spread the chopped strawberries over the crust. Sprinkle on the reserved cup of crumb mixture.
6. Return pan to 350 degree F oven and bake for another 20-25 minutes or until the crumbs on top are lightly browned. Then remove it from the oven and let the pan cool for 1 hour.
7. Melt the white chocolate in microwave, following directions on package. Drizzle melted chocolate in thin lines over the streusel top. Cut into bars.

 
 
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Laurie is the food blogger behind Simply Scratch, a blog that documents her efforts to find and create recipes that are made simply from scratch. (We think it’s sweet that her mother-in-law helped her set up her blog and get started.) We love her recipes; they’re not just tried and true, but they look gorgeous as well. Check out her blog and you’ll become a fan too.