Strawberry Lemon Blondies ~ these easy strawberry blondies are moist and dense, (think soft shortbread) with plenty of little jammy pockets thanks to a cup of diced fresh strawberries in the batter. A hint of lemon gives these strawberry bars a bright, tangy vibe.
We’re baking strawberry lemon blondies on repeat right now!
If you could only have one strawberry dessert this season, these fruity little strawberry bars would have to be the one, they’re ridiculously easy to throw together and completely irresistible…take it from me, I had my fork in one before I could finish my photo shoot. That’s always a sign of a good recipe 🙂
TIP: baking softens, sweetens, and brings out the best in pre-season berries, so even before the really good strawberries start showing up at market, you can make fabulous strawberry desserts.
If you like your desserts soft and moist, I know these strawberry lemon blondies will appeal to you.
There’s nothing dry or crumbly about them, they melt in the mouth like a great blondie should. Only instead of nuts and chocolate you’ve got juicy strawberries and tart lemon. Yum.
Blondies are an art form here at tvfgi, and there’s a special place in my heart for unique recipes like my Banana Blondies with their amazing caramel frosting, or my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Blondies. But sometimes you just need a little chocolate, am I right? In that case head straight for my Outrageous Chocolate Hazelnut Blondies or decadent Almond Butter Skillet Blondies.
The plush batter for these strawberry lemon blondies is thick but easy to work with. Take a minute to spread it out evenly in your pan so it bakes up nice and flat.
The pretty pink glaze is naturally colored
Blondies are pretty unassuming when they come out of the oven, but just wait. Let them cool down a bit, then drizzle on the tart glaze (I use a tablespoon of strained strawberry puree to create that pretty color naturally)…things are about to get interesting…
This is one strawberry dessert that is more than meets the eye. It’s all about that party in your mouth!
tvfgi recommends: a 9″ square ceramic baking dish
When it comes to small bakes like brownies and blondies, I like to bake in ceramic or stoneware. I think it bakes evenly without over cooking the edges. They come in so many pretty colors, but I’m partial to my white pan. Every kitchen needs one.
I recommend the 9″ size, and look for something with weight to it, like the one above. The side handles help when you’re trying to get it in and out of a hot oven.
Reader Rave ~
“You have gained a few fans! Made this for our Sunday night family gathering and everyone kept going back for more. I cut them into smaller pieces so everyone felt less guilty splurging 🙂 Thank you for a very yummy recipe.” ~ Jen
Strawberry Lemon Blondies
Equipment
- 9x9 square baking pan
- parchment paper for easy removal optional
Ingredients
blondies
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup diced fresh strawberries
glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted, measure out your sugar before sifting.
- 1 Tbsp strawberry puree, you'll need about 2 large strawberries, instructions below.
- lemon juice, about 1 Tbsp, or just enough to thin the glaze to a spreadable consistency
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Line a 9 inch square baking pan with parchment paper with long edges. This is optional but will help you lift out the blondies for easy glazing and slicing later.
- Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg.
- When the egg is fully incorporated, beat in the lemon juice. The lemon juice will probably not completely incorporate at this point, that's ok.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, and add to the wet ingredients, mixing until no more dry flour is present.
- Gently fold in the diced strawberries. Spread the mixture into your pan and spread out as evenly as possible. The dough is thick, so take your time. I like to use a large offset spatula for this job.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, just until starting to turn golden around the edges and the center is set. A toothpick inserted in the center will be moist but not wet. Don't over-bake these, or they will dry out. Let cool on a rack.
- Trim the strawberries for the glaze and puree in a small food processor. Strain the puree through a small strainer to get 1 Tbsp of puree. Whisk together the sugar, puree, and lemon juice until no lumps remain. If your glaze is too thin, add a touch more sugar. If it's too thick, add more lemon juice.
- Spread the glaze over the cooled blondies. Let the glaze set before slicing.
Video
Notes
- When you measure out the flour, first fluff the flour, then scoop it with your cup, and then level it without compacting it. This method helps insure an accurate amount.
- If you don't want to bother with the strawberry puree for the icing, just use lemon juice. I don't recommend using strawberry jam because it would be too sweet combined with the sugar.
- Do a little test before glazing your blondies. Spoon a bit of glaze on the blondies and see how it does...if it soaks right in it is too thin you can add more sugar. If it's too thick you can thin it down with more puree or lemon juice.
- For a variation, try this with diced rhubarb, blueberries, or raspberries. You could also use a combination of strawberries and rhubarb.
Nutrition
Thanks for pinning!
More strawberry desserts ~
Strawberry Shortbread Cookies
Easy Strawberry Cake
Strawberry Buttermilk Cake
White chocolate with this delicious looking dish sounds YUM!! Can hardly wait to try it on my friends that come here every Sunday after church for brunch. Yeah!
It’s a perfect Sunday brunch kind of treat 🙂
Oh Sue!! These look so scrumptious!! Perfect timing! I’ve been looking for something like this for Easter! Thanks girlie!
Reading this post I realized something: Your writing is just so good. The attractive and colorful photogrraphy and of course the always creative and tempting recipes are why I first started here, but the writing keeps me here just as much the the overall look and the goodness of the recipes.
Thanks for making my day Judy 🙂 The writing in blog posts is such a hotly contested issue, some believe it should be as brief as possible. I try to be brief, but still make it fun to read. I’d actually love to write longer form posts…but they say everything is going to be video soon, so, why bother??
Do you think they would freeze well; frost after thawing out?? I have a busy week, and it would be great to make the cake part in advance.
I haven’t frozen them so I can’t say for sure. I kind of think they might get a bit soggy due to the berries, but not certain. What I would do is get everything measured and set out on the counter the night before so you can throw them together in a flash. It’s not a very complicated recipe, in fact the little bit of puree for the glaze is the fussiest part and you could do that in advance.
Is there a gluten free option? These sounds delicious! I bet it would be great with almond and coconut flours?
The texture is so soft and tender that I think a good gf baking mix would work fine. Not sure about the almond/coconut combo, but it does sound good! If you try that let us know 🙂
I’ve made them twice now (just out of the oven as we speak!), and do 1.5 cups almond flour and 3/4 cup coconut flour. Most was the same, except I had more around 2 cups of strawberries and used Stevia instead of sugar. Absolutely delicious!! Of course it is a different texture than regular flour, but if you are used to it, you’ll love it!
Thanks a million Kristy, I know lots of people will want to try your gf version.
Could you use cake flour with these?
I can’t wait to try them. They look amazing.
Sure, I don’t see why not.
Sue, you have outdone yourself this time. These are the most beautiful things, and I’ll make some this weekend. Wow!
I had the last one this morning with my coffee, I think you’ll love them Donna <3
These blondes are so pretty!! Love strawberries and can’t wait to try this recipe Sue! Thanks for sharing!
It’s an easy way to jump into strawberry season, nothing fancy, but they hit the spot!
Oh my, I make lemon blondies but never thought to add strawberries! So pretty and springlike and no doubt delicious. Pinned!
It’s a lovely combo Tricia, the lemon really brightens up the flavor of the berries 🙂
What pretty pinky colour! What makes a blondie a blondie? I used to think it involved white chocolate, but I guess that’s not the case. Love these pretty pinky spring desserts.
I guess I go by my own rules in the kitchen Angie 😉 I don’t know if blondies have to have white chocolate, but come to think about it, a little white chocolate wouldn’t be too bad in these!
I thought it was the texture. A brownie but not brown lol