Strawberry Shortcake Bars
Was anyone else obsessed with the Good Humor Strawberry Shortcake Bars as a kid?? You know, those ice cream bars with the strawberry cream in the center and the crumb on the outside? If you didn't grow up eating those I recommend you get to the closest grocery store asap and see what I'm talking about. They are THAT good.
This recipe for bars is a recreation of those delicious frozen treats. I promise you are going to love these. Without further ado.....
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups + 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped fresh strawberries
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. freeze-dried strawberries
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease and line a 9" x 13" baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment (or you can mix by hand) combine the butter and brown sugar until the mixture is light and creamy and there are no lumps. About 2 minutes.
Making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl as you go, add in the egg and vanilla. Continue to mix until everything is nicely combined.
Add the flour and salt to the wet ingredients and mix until everything is just about combined. This mixture should be crumbly.
Press about 3/4 of this mixture into the bottom of the prepared 9" x 13" pan using the back of a measuring cup.
Set the remaining 1/4 of dough onto a cookie sheet spread out evenly. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. We will use this for the top layer of crumble.
Bake the bottom layer pressed into the pan until lightly golden brown on the edges, about 15 minutes.
As soon as the bottom layer is finished baking, let it cool completely before assembling. You can place it in the refrigerator to speed up the cooling process.
While the bottom layer bakes and cools we can prepare the other layers. Starting with the cream cheese filling, whisk together the softened cream cheese and confectioners sugar until smooth and creamy. Add in the vanilla.
In a separate bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream until it reaches medium stiff peaks and has a cool whip consistency.
Gently fold the heavy whipping cream into the cream cheese mixture. Make sure to use the correct folding technique. (Any Schitt's Creek fans? "YOU JUST FOLD IT IN").
To use the correct folding method, use a silicone spatula starting at the bottom of the bowl and use an upward motion to bring the mixture up and over continuously until everything is fully combined. Set the cream cheese/ whipped cream mixture aside.
Chop fresh strawberries into small pieces until you have about 3/4 cups. Fold the strawberries into the cream mixture until evenly dispersed.
Taking the 1/4 of dough we set aside to bake on a cookie sheet earlier, place this into a small to medium sized mixing bowl and combine it with the crushed freeze-dried strawberries until fully combined.
Once the base layer has fully cooled we can get to layering! Just make sure that the bottom layer is fully cooled, otherwise it will cause the layering mixture to melt and not set nicely.
Place the strawberry cream mixture on top of the bottom layer and spread out evenly.
Next, spoon the strawberry crumble over the cream layer evenly until you have used it all up.
Let the bars set in the fridge for about an hour before slicing.
Enjoy!!! ❤️