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These strawberry squares layer a jammy fresh-strawberry filling over a press-in almond crust, finished with streusel clumps and toasted sliced almonds. The fruit cooks down with strawberry jam until thick, so every one of the 24 squares slices neatly. They're our paleo answer to a bakery fruit bar.
Pro Tips
- Don't skip reserving half a cup of the flour mixture: toss it with the remaining tablespoon of palm sugar and pinch it into hazelnut-sized clumps for the streusel topping.
- Cook the strawberry, vanilla, and jam mixture in the skillet for the full 10 minutes — a jam-thick filling won't soak into the prebaked crust.
- Press the crust flat with the bottom of a measuring cup and prebake it about 15 minutes until golden, so it stays crisp under the fruit.
- Pulse the strawberries only 5 to 7 times; quarter-inch chunks give the filling body instead of soup.
- Let the pan cool completely, about two hours, then lift the slab out with the foil sling and cut into squares.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use frozen strawberries instead of fresh?
Yes — thaw and drain them well first, since extra liquid would water down the filling. The skillet cooking time may run a few minutes longer.
Why does the crust need to be prebaked?
The 15-minute prebake at 375°F sets the almond crust so it can handle the wet strawberry layer. Skipping it leaves you with a soggy bottom.
How do I cut clean squares?
Cool the pan completely on a wire rack — about two hours — then use the foil sling to lift the whole slab out before slicing into 24 squares.
How long do strawberry squares keep?
Store them in an airtight container in the fridge; the crust stays snappiest over the first two to three days.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Method
- 1.
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Line a 13x9 baking pan with a foil sling. Make foil sling by folding two long sheets of aluminum foil; the first sheet should be thirteen inches wide and the second sheet should be nine inches wide. Lay sheets of foil in pan perpendicular to each other, with extra foil hanging over edges of pan. Push foil into corners and up sides of pan, smoothing foil flush to pan.
- Grease with coconut oil.
- 2. Process the flour, 1¼ cups of the almonds, ⅓ cup of the palm sugar, and ½ teaspoon salt together in a food processor until combined (about 5 seconds).
- Add the coconut oil and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-sized pieces of coconut oil (about 20 pulses).
- 3.
- Reserve ½ cup of the flour mixture for the topping.
- Sprinkle the remaining flour mixture into the prepared pan and press into an even layer with the bottom of a measuring cup.
- Bake the crust until fragrant and golden brown (about 15 minutes).
- 4.
- While the crust bakes, mix the remaining tablespoon of palm sugar and the reserved flour mixture together in a small bowl and pinch the mixture between your fingers into hazelnut-sized clumps of streusel.
- 5. Pulse the strawberries, vanilla extract, and jam together in a food processor until the strawberries are roughly quarter-inch chunks (5 to 7 pulses).
- Cook the strawberry mixture in a large nonstick skillet over high heat until it is thickened and jam-like (10 minutes).
- Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt.
- 6.
- Spread the cooked strawberry mixture evenly over the hot crust and sprinkle with the streusel topping and remaining ½ cup of almonds.
- Bake until almonds are golden brown (about 20 minutes), rotating the pan halfway through baking.
- 7.
- Place the pan atop a wire rack and let the bars cool completely (about two hours).
- Remove the bars from the pan using the foil, cut into squares, and serve.
