Fruit filling layered with tart cream and brown sugar cookies crust make up this picture-perfect strawberry bars!
Bakers of any level can whip together this super easy cookie bars recipe! I use pie filling to make it extra easy — and so you don’t need to worry about the season for these fruit cookies!
Make strawberry bars in the spring or summer; swap out the strawberry filling to make peach crumb bars or apple bars; or add your favorite nuts to make pecan pie bars! Versatile, easy, and yummy, these bars are always the best choice.
What I Love About Strawberry Bars Recipe
I adore any dessert recipe that bakes up fast enough to satisfy my cravings — and these bars come together in 30 minutes flat!
- Berry versatility
- Great in any season
- Beginning baker ease
- Three layers of YUM!
Strawberry Bars Ingredients
This strawberry cream bars recipe breaks down into three delicious layers that come together with berry, creamy, sweet perfection!
Crust:
- Butter
- Brown Sugar
- Flour
- Baking Soda
- Baking Powder
- Salt
Filling:
- Filling: I use strawberry pie filling for ease in this recipe and also so I can easily swap for any other pie filling flavor. Apple, blackberry, blueberry — the possibilities are endless!
- BUT I will say that it is totally possible to use your own fresh fruit if you need recipes to use up strawberries — simply cook your strawberries with a little sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan until they reach the pie filling consistency you like.
- Sour Cream: If you’re new to baking, you might scoff at using sour cream in a sweet recipe. But don’t turn away! You’re in for a world of flavor deliciousness. Not only does sour cream bring a rich, smooth texture to your desserts, it also adds a tang that not even yogurt can replicate. Go for the sour cream!
- Cookie Crumb: I use lots of brown sugar for the cookie crumb crust — no white sugar in this stuff! Brown sugar brings a richness in flavor thanks to the higher molasses content. You’ll love the extra punch!
- Flour
- Egg
- Vanilla Extract
How To Make Strawberry Cream Bars
- Mix all the ingredients for the crust, and in a separate bowl combine all the filling ingredients.
- Assemble in a baking pan.
- Bake. Voila!
***See the full instructions below.
How to Store and Make Ahead
- How Long Can You Keep This? Once your bars are fully baked and cooled, you can store them in the fridge for up to five days. Any longer, and the berries will start to bleed into the cookie crumb — and while the taste won’t be any worse for wear, the texture will be quite soggy.
- Can You Freeze This? Unfortunately, no. This is where these strawberry cream bars differ from strawberry pie — the sour cream filling brings dairy richness to these bars, but it means you can’t freeze them. Dairy and freezers don’t mix!
- Make Ahead Tips: The best way to make this recipe ahead is to fully assemble and stop right before baking. You can store the unbaked bars in the fridge — covered! — for up to two days.
- Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link.
More Cookie Bar Recipes…
Want more fruit desserts? Here are some irresistible treats!
- Lemon Bars
- Cranberry Bars
- Cranberry Bliss Bars
- Coconut Bars
- Coconut Cream Pie Bars
- Lemon Coconut Bars
- Lemon Blueberry Bars
- Blackberry Pie Bars
- Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
- Cherry Custard Pie Bars
Tried This Recipe?
Leave a review, I love hearing your feedback! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Strawberry Bars
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Filling:
- 1 cup strawberry pie filling
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Line an 8X8 baking pan with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Add flour (1 1/2 cups), brown sugar (1/2 cup), baking soda (1/2 teaspoon), baking powder (1/2 teaspoon), and salt (1/4 teaspoon) to a medium and whisk until ingredients are evenly combined. Add the butter (1/2 cup) and combine until the mixture is the size of peas and is crumbly. Reserve 3/4 cup of crumb mixture and set aside to use for the topping. Press the remaining crumb mixture into the prepared baking pan. Set aside and prepare to fill.
- Add the sour cream (1/2 cup), sugar (1/4 cup), 1 tablespoon of flour, egg (1), and vanilla (1/2 teaspoon) in a large bowl and mix until all the ingredients are evenly combined. Spread the filling over the prepared crust. Drop spoonfuls of strawberry pie filling evenly over sour cream filling. Gently swirl pie filling with a sour cream mixture with a spoon. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture evenly over top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25-28 minutes or until the top of the bars begin to brown and the center of the bars is "set". Cool completely and serve. Store any leftovers in the fridge.
Fans Also Made:
Nutrition
Source: Adapted from Crunchy Cream Sweet
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judy says
These bars were great–not too sweet. Great flavor–made them for a party and were gone in a flash! Only thing I did differently was I prebaked the bottom crust before adding the filling since my family likes a crispier type of cookie and it turned out great!
Kathleen says
Hi, Judy! Thank you so much. I love what you did 🙂 Thank you for sharing!
Merida says
My kids love this
Kathleen says
So happy to hear you and your kids loved it, Merida ❤️
Matt Green says
I love these! I’m a newbie in the kitchen, and they turned out phenomenal! Thank you for the help! Great work!
Kathleen says
You’re welcome, Matt! Congratulations! ❤️❤️ So happy it worked out well for you and we’re looking forward to hear more from you! Enjoy cooking!
KELLIE says
I bake a lot and I have to say ,I was most proud to serve these. They are by far the best desert I have ever had.
Kathleen says
Wow! Thanks Kellie. So glad to hear that 🙂
Alyssa says
I made these last night with cherry pie filling. I used parchment paper liners in a muffin tin instead of the 8×8 pan. It made about sixteen. They were a phenomenal success!
Kathleen says
Hey Alyssa. I love it. What a great idea!!!Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Ashley says
I’m baking these right now! Store was out of strawberry, so I went with Raspberry filling, so we shall see! 🙂
Kathleen says
I’m sure the bars will be delicious with raspberry filling!
Erika says
I used fresh, local strawberries instead of the pie filling in this recipe and it was fantastic!
Kathleen says
Great to know Erika 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Kristina says
Did you sweeten or thicken the fresh strawberries?
Kathleen says
Hi Kristina. This recipe uses Strawberry Pie Filling not fresh strawberries. I’m sorry but I haven’t tried it with fresh!
Fran C says
I can’t wait to make these bars……….I know they will be a hit. Thank you
Kathleen says
Hi Fran! Hope you enjoy 🙂
Cindy @ Pick Fresh Foods says
Yum, these bars look so pretty. I Iove the cream and strawberry combo and that crumble is perfect!
Kathleen says
Hey Cindy thanks so much. The crumble topping is really yummy 🙂
carol says
Is there any way of saving recipes??
Kathleen says
Hi Carol, I don’t have that feature yet. So sorry!
sandi says
These bars look absolutely heavenly ~ I cant wait to make them. <3
Kathleen says
Hey Sandi! They honestly are! Hope you enjoy them 🙂
Jane says
Made these, took the to work. Everyone LOVED them! I used a strawberry-rhubarb pie fillie. Love. Love. Love this recipe.
Kathleen says
Hey Jane. So glad everyone enjoyed them. Love the fruit combination!