Description
These bright and vibrant Strawberry Lemonade Bars feature a cardamom-spiced shortbread crust topped with a silky lemon filling swirled with sweet strawberry. The perfect balance of sweet and tart, they’re refreshingly simple to make using whole lemons processed to perfection.
Ingredients
Scale
Crust:
- 2½ cups (300g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon cardamom (or ginger, optional)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (226g) butter, melted
Lemon Filling:
- 2 large lemons
- 2½ cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 6 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Strawberry Swirl:
- ½ cup reserved lemon filling
- ½ cup strawberry jam
Topping:
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9×13-inch pan with parchment paper, creating overhanging slings on long sides.
- For the crust, combine flour, powdered sugar, cardamom, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk well.
- Pour in melted butter and mix until combined with no dry spots remaining.
- Press mixture evenly into prepared pan. Use a measuring cup to flatten and smooth.
- Bake crust for 25 minutes or until lightly golden at edges.
- Meanwhile, prepare filling. Cut stem ends off lemons and slice into ½-inch thick pieces. Remove visible seeds.
- In food processor, combine sugar, cornstarch, and softened butter cut into pieces. Pulse for 1 minute until mixture resembles wet sand.
- Add lemon slices and process 1-2 minutes until smooth, scraping sides as needed.
- Add eggs and vanilla. Process 30 seconds until well combined.
- Reserve ½ cup lemon filling and mix with strawberry jam in separate bowl.
- Pour remaining lemon filling over warm crust. Drizzle strawberry mixture across top.
- Use skewer or knife to create swirl pattern throughout filling.
- Bake 25-30 minutes until center barely jiggles.
- Cool completely on wire rack, then refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Use parchment slings to remove from pan. Cut into bars and dust with powdered sugar before serving.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar (makes 24 bars)
- Calories: 215 kcal
- Sugar: 24g
- Sodium: 105mg
- Fat: 10g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Carbohydrates: 31g
- Fiber: 0.5g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 63mg
