I often end up baking or cooking things because of what is lying around that needs to be used, and fast. You see, here in Mexico, because of the heat and humidity, (and I truly believe because our food is a little less processed also), food seems to waste faster. When I buy bananas for my daughter, there’s about a two-day window where they are edible, and then, inevitably, they end up in the freezer ready for the next batch of banana bread.
Last week this Costco size container of strawberries looked extra pretty and was cheaper than normal, so I bought them. For some reason, as pretty as they were, they didn’t get eaten as fast as they should have, (must have been the pretty blueberries that got in the way) and I noticed that they were starting to wane. I couldn’t have that, so thought I would make something sweet with them.
If I had to choose between pie crust or crumble on top of a pie, I’d always choose the crumble. I prefer apple crumble any day over the pie. What is it about butter and sugar and flour mixed together that makes the crumble so desirable? So flaky? So …. crumbly?
I don’t know. But I thought why not use the same crumble on the bottom that I so love on the top?
And so these double crumble strawberry bars were born.
One bowl for the crumble and one for the strawberries, easy peasy. They are fresh and fast and the perfect bar for this time of year when you should have strawberries cheap, fresh, and abundant.
Make sure you let them cool completely; because they are so moist and ‘crumbly’, if you cut into them when they are still warm, you might get a few too many ‘crumbles’.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup cold butter
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, washed, hulled, and chopped
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375°. Line an 8×8 pan with foil or parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, stir together 1/2 cup white sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Add beaten egg and vanilla with a fork. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with two knives or a pastry cutter until the pieces are more or less pea-size. Set aside. (Keep refrigerated while preparing strawberries).
In a separate bowl, stir together 1/3 cup sugar and cornstarch. Add strawberries and toss to combine.
In the prepared pan, put down half the dough, pressing evenly with hands to flatten. Spoon strawberry mixture on top. Crumble remaining dough over the strawberry layer.
Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until top is slightly golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting. (I refrigerated mine to help them cool faster).
ORANGELOLLS 