Sink your teeth into the perfect spring dessert! Strawberry lemonade bars are baked on a crunchy sweet shortbread crust and topped with a light, creamy filling made with fresh tart lemons and sweet strawberries. An eye-catching sweet and tangy treat that is sure to please.
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Table of Contents
Delightful Strawberry Dessert Recipes
These bars celebrate the flavors (and colors) of spring! They are a wonderful combination of tart and sweet without overwhelming your senses. The tart lemon juice and zest perfectly balance out the sugary sweetness of the strawberries.
Strawberries are a perfect spring or summer fruit. When you're ready to enjoy more strawberry yumminess try this showstopper Strawberry Lemon Cake, a simple Strawberry Mug Cake for one, or this thirst-quenching Strawberry Rum Cocktail.
Why You'll Love This Strawberry Lemon Bars Recipe
Lemon strawberry bars might look extra fancy, but they are the perfect last-minute dessert. You can literally puree the filling in a blender, pour it on top of the crust, bake it, and enjoy your dessert bars in just a few hours.
They begin with fresh lemons and sugar, just like homemade lemonade, which makes a great base for the sweet strawberries. They absolutely have the best lemony-strawberry mix of flavor in them!
These lemonade bars make a refreshing treat, much like lemonade on a warm day, for the spring and summer days ahead.
Ingredients
Here's what you'll need for the shortbread crust:
- All-purpose flour
- Salted butter
- Granulated sugar
Here's what you'll need for the filling and garnishing:
- Lemons for the zest and juice - fresh is always best
- Strawberries - you can puree half and chop the rest to add to the batter as I did or puree them all for a pink lemonade bars look
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Powdered sugar
Fresh or Frozen Strawberries
You can use either fresh or frozen strawberries. If using frozen, do not use the ones with syrup. And make sure you thoroughly thaw and drain the strawberries so there's no additional liquid in the filling mixture.
Equipment Needed
How to Make Strawberry Lemonade Bars
This recipe has been tested and retested. I have made it with a softer, more liquidy top but prefer these bars that have more substance and still give you that slightly soft lemonade top with a crunchy bottom.
For the shortbread crust
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13-inch pan with parchment paper. Make sure that it extends over the side to aid in removing the bars after cooling. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP!
- In an electric mixer, combine flour, butter, and sugar.
- Beat until the mixture comes together.
- Press into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- It should be level and extend to all sides and corners of the baking pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and firm while you make the filling below.
For the strawberry lemonade filling
- Using a large blender, combine the fresh lemon juice and half of the chopped strawberries. (Note: you can add all the strawberries to the blender if you do not want pieces of strawberries in your bars. The end result will be pinker bars.)
- Add the lemon zest to the blender. Blend until smooth,
- Pour in the sugar and blend again.
- Add eggs and continue to blend.
- Lastly, add flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Blend filling until smooth then stir in the remaining half of the chopped strawberries. (If you added them all to the blender to be pureed skip this step.)
To assemble lemon strawberry bars
- Baked cooled crust ready for filling.
- Pour the filling into the baked shortbread crust.
- It will be very liquidy so lift the pan carefully and place it in the oven. Cook for another 23-25 minutes.
- Remove the lemonade bars from the oven. Let them cool on a wire rack for 1 hour then place them in the refrigerator to chill for another 1-2 hours or overnight.
- When strawberry lemonade bars are very cold, lift them carefully from the baking pan using the parchment overhang. Place the bars on a wooden cutting board and cut them into 24 equal-sized bars. Garnish with powdered sugar.
As noted above, if adding the entire 1 cup of strawberries to the blender, the resulting bars will be more pink than yellow like the one below.
Recipe Tips
- Don't skip lining the pan with parchment paper. You'll need it to easily lift the bars out of the pan.
- Make sure the crust has cooled before pouring the filling mixture over it.
- Use room-temperature butter to make the shortbread crust. Cold butter will cause holes and melted butter will cause the crust to be too hard and crunchy.
- Make sure the bars are completely chilled before removing them from the pan and slicing them.
How to Store Lemon Bars
Store the bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. For extended storage, you can freeze them.
To Freeze: wrap each bar in two layers of plastic wrap. Place the wrapped bars in a plastic freezer bag. Freeze them for up to 4 months. Thaw them in the fridge overnight.
More Recipes for Bars
- Apple Crisp Bars
- Graham Cracker Cookie Bars
- Gluten Free Lemon Bars
- Pecan Bars with Shortbread Crust
- Sugar Cookie Bars
Find lots of easy recipes for cookies and bars right here on 2CM!
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Strawberry Lemonade Bars
Ingredients
For the Shortbread Crust
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup butter room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
Filling
- ½ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice 4-5 lemons depending on size
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest (1 lemon)
- 1 cup chopped strawberries, divided
- 2 cups sugar
- 6 eggs
- ½ cup flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
For the Shortbread Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13-inch pan with parchment paper that extends up the side and overhangs to aid in removing the bars after cooling. DON'T SKIP THIS STEP!
- In an electric mixer, combine flour, butter, and sugar and beat until the mixture comes together. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and firm. Remove and set aside while preparing the filling.
For Filling
- While the crust is baking, start to prepare the filling. Using a large blender, combine the fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, half the strawberries, and sugar. Blend until smooth. (Note: you can add all the strawberries to the blender if you do not want pieces of strawberries in your bars. The end result will be pinker bars.)
- Add eggs and continue to blend.
- Lastly, add flour, baking powder, and salt. Blend filling until smooth.
- Stir in the remaining half of the chopped strawberries. (If you added them all to the blender to be pureed skip this step.)
- Pour the filling over the cooled baked crust. Bake for about 23-25 minutes. The center should be barely set.
- Remove from the oven to a wire rack and cool for about 1 hour. Place in the refrigerator, covered, for 1-2 more hours.
- When bars are chilled, remove from the refrigerator. Slide a knife around the two ends without the parchment paper edge and cut through the shortbread crust so the bars don't stick to the side. Using the parchment paper, lift the bars carefully to a wooden cutting board.
- Cut into 24 2x2-inch bars then place on a wire rack and dust with powdered sugar.
- Store covered in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Notes
- Don't skip lining the pan with parchment paper. You'll need it to easily lift the bars out of the pan.
- Make sure the crust has cooled before pouring the filling mixture over it.
- Use room-temperature butter to make the shortbread crust. Cold butter will cause holes and melted butter will cause the crust to be too hard and crunchy.
- Make sure the bars are completely chilled before removing them from the pan and slicing them.
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