Every holiday calls for a dessert at my house, which means this gal needs to be looking up recipes for inspiration or going through grandma’s recipe box to find the perfect sweet treat. Since it’s officially summer and fruit is now in season I decided to steer away from my usual chocolate indulgence. I love any and every fruit (except honeydew, just ain’t a fan!) but strawberries have always been one of my favorites and like most people nothing taste better than a cold glass of lemonade on a hot summer day (okay, okay maybe a beer would be better but that just wasn’t going to work in my dessert) and with that comes Strawberry Lemonade Bars. The perfect hot summer day dessert for our Memorial Day cook out. They are sweet, tart, and delicious! Super easy to whip up and I’m sure you have almost all of the ingredients in your fridge and pantry at this very moment. With a quick trip to the farmers market to pick up some ruby red strawberries and a lemon you’ll be good to go!

Ingredients:
Crust
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

Filling
1 cup fresh lemon juice
2-3 tsp lemon zest
1/2 cup pureed strawberries (about 1 cup of berries)
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Tip: If you are using fresh strawberries – place one cup of  cut strawberries in a food processor and blend until puree consistency is reached

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan
Start with the crust – In a large bowl, blend together sugar and butter until smooth and fluffy
Slowly beat in flour and salt until the mixture becomes crumbly
Pour and press into 9×13-inch baking pan to create an even layer
Bake about 16-18 minutes
While crust is baking, prepare filling
In a food processor blend together lemon juice, lemon zest, strawberry puree, sugar, and eggs until smooth
Add flour, baking powder, and salt, blend again until smooth
Pour the filling over the hot crust
Bake again for 23-26 minutes – there will be a light colored “crust” on top of the bars, which is okay, it’s from the sugar
Sprinkle tops of bars with powdered sugar
Cool completely
Slice with a damp knife
Enjoy!

Tip: I know you’ll want to drive right in when these come out of the oven, I don’t blame and they will be delicious but they really do taste twice as good once they are completely cooled and even in the fridge for a bit