Strawberry Pie Bars

Sharing one of my favorites today…For one, I love strawberries! A guy I used to work with called them “pesticide nuggets” as they are one of the most sprayed crops out there. However, we get them locally and that makes me feel better about them. I know they still use some pesticides but not nearly as many as those commercial places. When I was young we had a beautiful strawberry patch that we couldn’t keep up with. Finally, after too many softball seasons of neglect we had to say goodbye to it. Someday I plan to have my own strawberry patch again (hopefully soon). Until then, we’ll keep buying those local berries so I can whip up these strawberry pie bars.

Ingredients

1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp almond flavoring
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 can (21oz or a quart jar) strawberry pie filling

Directions for Strawberry Pie Bars

Cream the shortening and sugar.
Beat in the eggs and flavoring.
Add flour and salt.
Blend well.
Spread ¾ batter over the bottom of a greased jelly roll pan (10 x 15).
Spread pie filling evenly over the top of the crust.
With spoon or hands, dot the remaining batter over the top of the pie filling.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Tips & Tricks

The batter will be thick! You really need to press it out well because you want to make sure that you leave enough of it for the top. The top doesn’t have to be covered but you’ll be disappointed if there isn’t enough left to dot around and create that perfect bite.

Don’t skip the almond flavoring. I know I’m usually one to skip things here and there and leave stuff out. This is one that I recommend that you don’t skip. It adds just a tiny bit of almond to the crust and makes it taste so good.

One of the best parts about this recipe? You only need one bowl. We all know that’s my favorite kind of cooking right there! I also prefer to put them on a sheet of parchment paper which makes the clean up even more of a breeze.

Feel free to mix it up and use different pie fillings. A cherry or blueberry pie filling would also be incredible for these. Heck, throw in a pear pie filling if that’s what fits your fancy!

Last tip here, you can also add a glaze to these if you want them to be a little more sweet or a look a little more professional. Just drizzle on an almond flavored or vanilla flavored glaze and you have a dessert that will be a stunner for any gathering. We try to leave the glaze off simply to keep the amount of sugar lower but it really does add a beautiful finishing touch to add it.

In Conclusion: Strawberry Pie Bars

Not only do these make a wonderful summer treat but if you are canning strawberry pie filling you can enjoy them all year round! Well, basically if you are canning any sort of pie filling these can be a treat that you enjoy all year round. Strawberry pie bars are so easy to make! Much easier than throwing together a whole pie and, to be honest, that’s one of my very favorite parts of them. We sometimes end up with extra pie filling because actually making the pie dough can take awhile. Making pie dough can take some finesse too. Not these bars! So simple that even beginners can make them.What is your favorite way to use pie filling?
These bars definitely hit #1 for me but I also love using pie filling on top of pancakes for a super special treat.