Strawberry Lemon Bars

It's been 3 weeks since my school year ended and my summer started. It's been nice to relax and not have to be anywhere all day but it's a good thing I'm taking a summer grad class and that I am getting ready to move or else I think I would go crazy from boredom! I recently accepted a job offer at a new school district to be closer to my family. I am getting too old to be doing 7-hour drives any longer. My new place cuts off only 2 hours, but that is still much more manageable for me. I start getting tired at about the 4th or 5th hour, so it's actually perfect.

I don't think it has hit me just yet that I will not be returning to the same school in August. My coworkers and I have gotten really close these last 2 years and I am sad to be leaving just when I think that things are going to change for the better. It didn't even hit me when we had our annual end-of-the-year faculty luncheon. The principal did her usual goodbyes and handed out cards and I was one of them this year, but still I didn't even tear up. It'll probably hit me when we're going back to school and there are no familiar faces. It'll be a difficult transition, but the staff members I met when I went for my interview were very nice. I've heard good things about the schools so I am also looking forward to this new chapter in my life!



For our luncheon, we were asked to bring in a dessert and I made these Strawberry Lemon Bars. I think I had too much batter because the bars turned out a lot thicker than it looked like in the original post, but it still turned out great and it was all gone by the end! I think I made something with strawberries last year too. Probably because I had picked about 15 pounds of it last year around the same time, same as this year. Dealing with 15 pounds of strawberries every May is definitely becoming a tradition now.

Next pick-your-own fruit is peach! What should I make with peaches? Definitely canning is in the picture - jam and pie filling!

Strawberry Lemon Bars
From Mind Over Batter

For the macerated strawberries
1 1/2 to 2 pounds strawberries
4 tbsp sugar

For the bars
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
4 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste (I used extract)
2 lemons, zested and juiced
3 cups all purpose flour

For the glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 to 3 tbsp milk

Hull and slice the strawberries in half. Place in a large bowl and sprinkle sugar over the berries. Mix briefly with a spatula and set aside uncovered for about an hour or so. This will soften the berries and make them juicy.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter a 9x13 baking dish and line with parchment leaving a slight overhang (I skipped the parchment step as I would be serving right out of the dish). Set aside.

Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer on medium speed, cream the butter, sugar, lemon zest, and salt until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs on at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stop and scrape the mixer. Reduce speed to low and add the lemon juice and vanilla bean paste. Mix briefly to combine. Add the flour in two parts, mixing until just combined. Remove from mixer and give it another couple of folds to incorporate any dry bits on the bottom of the bowl. The batter is a bit stiff and not pourable.

Measure about 3 1/2 cups of batter and drop into prepared pan. Smooth and even out as best you can.

Take spoonfuls of macerated strawberries and drop them evenly into the pan. Drizzle 6 to 8 tablespoons of the strawberry juice. With a cookie scoop, drop remaining batter over the strawberries. No need to smooth it out - it will melt and come together in the oven.





Place pan in preheated oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the top is golden brown and strawberries are bubbling. Remove pan from oven and allow to cool completely before glazing.

In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Add milk 1 tbsp at a time and mix until you get desired consistency. Once bars are cool, cut into squares (if you desire) and drizzle glaze over the bars. Top with a strawberry half if you desire.

Strawberry Jam

Aren't they beautiful? Last weekend, I went strawberry picking and ended up with about 15 pounds of fruit! In the moment, I wanted to pick them all. How can you spot a beautiful, bright red batch of strawberries and just walk by? I couldn't. I eventually stopped because the box was getting too heavy for me to carry back. I knew I wanted to make jam with them immediately so here I am, posting about it 3 batches of jam later.



My first 2 tries weren't successful. I'm still eating a jar from those tries though because it is still really good jam, and darn it, I made it! But it's a little runny and I wouldn't want to gift runny jam to anybody. I decided maybe I should follow the directions that are on my pectin package and that yielded the right consistency! Amazing.

This is my first canning experience ever and I am amazed that it was this successful. I can't wait to pick peaches and cherries and apples next and can those as well. I am not a fan of freezing fruit so I'm considering just canning the fruit in slices or making pie filling and canning that. If you've never canned before, the first time might be chaotic but create a system before and it'll definitely help! I hope my detailed instructions below help. Pioneer Woman gives detailed instructions with pictures for every step as well so check that out! Part 1 and Part 2.

Strawberry Jam

Before you even mess with the ingredients, I would set up a system first. It worked well for me. Here is all the equipment that I used:

Water-Bath Canner with Rack
Vinyl Coated Jar Lifter
Magnetic Lid Lifter
Extra Wide Mouth Canning Funnel

I linked Amazon on all the equipment but you can easily find them at Walmart. I also didn't buy the set but just bought the 3 pieces and that was cheaper than the set. I don't see myself using every single piece so I just saved myself a couple bucks.

Place canning rack inside canning pot and place on stove. Turn on heat to high. Place mason jars inside pot and fill with water until jars are completely submerged. I found it easier to fill the jars with water then fill the rest of the pot. I tried placing the jars into the pot full of water and the jars just fell over. Not that it really matters, but I like order. You just want to simmer the mason jars so that the hot jam does not shock the glass. I start this now because it took my pot a long while to come to a simmer and it gives you plenty of time to make the jam. I leave the lid off but if I'm almost ready and the pot is not yet simmering, lid goes on.

Next, grab the small pot and fill it with enough water to cover jar lids. The bands that screw around the top just need to be clean and not simmered. Bring to a simmer and leave alone.

Now let's make the jam.

5 cups strawberries, cleaned, rinsed, hulled, and mashed
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
6 tbsp pectin (I used Ball's RealFruit)
6 cups sugar (originally 7 but I cut down...and I might cut down more)

Clean the strawberries first and let it drain in a colander. Place a rimmed baking sheet on your counter. Hull the strawberries with just a spoon and place on baking sheet. Mash the strawberries with a potato masher. Measure out 5 cups and place in Dutch oven (or a big pot - the jam gets crazy and splatters everywhere so use something deep).



Turn on the heat on the Dutch oven. Pour in lemon juice and stir. Mix in pectin and throw in a dab of butter (this helps cut down the foam). Let it come to a "violent" boil, one that does not go away even with stirring. Mix in the sugar and let it come to a boil again. Let it boil for about a minute and turn off heat. After it has calmed down, skim off foam if there is any. Just as a warning: the jam gets everywhere when boiling. Be prepared.



Place a thick pot holder on your counter and place the Dutch oven containing your jam on it. Lay out dish towels where you want to place your jars and another near the pot as your workstation. The jam will also drip as you transfer so be prepared and lay the paper towels out now between the pot and the jar.

Hopefully, your pot with the jars has been simmering by now. Leave the heat on as you will be boiling the jars later. Take a jar out (using the jar lifter), carefully pour water out and place onto your workstation. Put in funnel, pour in jam (leaving at least 1/4 inch heads pace), take out funnel, grab a lid with magnetic lid lifter, place on jar, screw on band JUST until you meet resistance, set aside. Repeat with all your jars.



Place the filled jars back into the canning pot using the jar lifter. Turn the heat to high and cover with lid. Bring it to a violent boil and let it boil for about 10 minutes. Then turn off heat and let the jars sit in the hot water for about 5 minutes. Take out the jars one by one using the jar lifter and now listen for every single pop! Count your pops - that's the sound of it sealing! Leave the jars alone for at least 24 hours.

After 24 hours, unscrew the bands and check the lids. It should not make a popping noise when you push the center. If it does, it's still edible; you just have to put it in the fridge.