Strawberry Crumble Bars

Christie Campbell shares her mostly healthy and low fat recipes on her blog A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventure. Her claim to fame is a winning recipe that got her on Emeril Live!

Christie is sharing her recipe for Strawberry Crumble Bars. Here’s what she says about them,

Strawberry preserves made with Florida strawberries make the perfect filling for these Strawberry Crumble Bars. Strawberry flavor is sandwiched between buttery layers of oatmeal and almond crumble.

Ingredients:

For the preserves:

• 3 pints Florida strawberries, stemmed, cored and roughly chopped (about 5 cups)
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 4 half pint jars

For the bars:

• 1/2 pint Florida strawberry preserves
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup almond meal
• 1 cup old fashioned oats

Method:

For the preserves:

1. Place the strawberries and lemon juice in a large saucepan. Simmer on medium for 15 to 20 minutes or until the berries start to release their juices.
2. Pour the sugar over the berries and bring to a full, rolling boil for 1 minute. Reduce heat and simmer until the preserves reach your desired consistency. I like mine on the thick side, so I simmered mine, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes.
3. While the berries are simmering, bring your jars, lids, and rims to a boil in a large saucepan. Remove the jars from the pot with canning tongs (or carefully use your silicone tipped tongs). I leave them upside down to dry on a clean towel.
4. Once the strawberry preserves are ready, carefully ladle the preserves into the prepared jars using a funnel. If you don’t have a funnel, simply wipe the rims well before placing the lids and rings on the jars. Do not turn the rings too tightly; only hand tight. Turn the jars upside down for five minutes then turn
   upright and allow to cool completely before serving.
5. Refrigerate for up to 3 weeks or you can process the jars in boiling water for 10 minutes and store in your pantry for a few months.

For the bars:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
   Use a pastry blender or two knives, combine the softened butter with the 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, flour, and almond meal until it resembles a coarse meal. Stir in the oats.
2. Remove one cup of the mixture and set aside. Place the rest of the mixture in the bottom of an 8 x 8 baking dish. Press the mixture to the bottom of the pan until evenly coated. Spread the Florida strawberry preserves over the crust and top with the remaining crumble mixture.
3. Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes or until the preserves are bubbly and the crumble mixture is lightly browned.
4. Cool before slicing and serving.

Originally posted at A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventure.

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