Strawberry squares are jammy, streusel-topped bars with a golden almond crust and a filling of fresh strawberries cooked down with strawberry jam. Sliced almonds toast on top while the buttery streusel clumps crispen around them. Twenty-four squares of proper summer baking that keep for days.
MAKES 24 SQUARES
Ingredients
1½ cups almond flour
1¾ cups sliced almonds
⅔ cup + 1 tablespoon (15 ml) palm sugar
1 pinch salt
12 tablespoons (180 ml) coconut oil, cut into 12 pieces and softened
1½ pounds strawberries
½ cup strawberry jam (see Fruit Jam recipe, page 221)
1 cup (240 ml) of water
½ teaspoon grated fresh lemon zest
½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Coconut oil for greasing foil
Preparation
1.В В Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). 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.В В 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.В В 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.В В 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.В В 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.В В 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.В В 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.
Pro Tips
- Cook the strawberry mixture until it's genuinely jam-like — ten minutes of high heat concentrates the flavour and stops the bars from being wet in the middle.
- Pinch the streusel into hazelnut-sized clumps with your fingers. Bigger clumps give you the crunchy, bakery-style topping that defines a good square.
- Spread the filling over the hot crust straight from the oven; it bonds the layers together so the bars slice cleanly later.
- Cool completely before cutting — two hours on a wire rack. Warm bars fall apart no matter how good the crust is.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use frozen strawberries?
Yes — thaw and drain them first, then cook off the extra liquid a few minutes longer. The filling needs to be thick before it hits the crust.
What jam works in the filling?
Strawberry jam keeps the flavour pure, but raspberry gives a lovely sweet-tart twist that plays beautifully against the almonds.
How do I store strawberry squares?
Airtight at room temperature for two days or refrigerated for five. The streusel softens slightly but the flavour just improves.
Can I make them in a different pan?
A 13x9 pan gives the right thickness here. A smaller pan makes the layers too deep and the middle stays underdone.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Method
- 1. В В 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. В В 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. В В 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. В В 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. В В 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. В В 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. В В 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.
