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
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
Video
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.
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. Â 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. Â
Nutrition
Thanks for pinning!
More strawberry desserts ~
Strawberry Shortbread Cookies
Easy Strawberry Cake
Strawberry Buttermilk Cake
I tried doubling the recipe when I made this for a school function for 24 people. I tasted the batter after I incorporated all the ingredients and my strawberries still tasted kind of bitter and the batter tasted less sweet so I added a 1/4 cup more sugar. I baked it on 350 in a 13×9 glass pan for 45 min. It browned on top and the toothpick in center came out clean. I let it cool on a wire rack and made the glaze and when it was cool to the touch I poured it over and the edges all crumbled away and the hidden pockets of strawberry made the dough more moist and to me it tastes like an underdone scone. I’m sad. The picture looked so pretty and I really wanted to like them.
Sorry it didn’t turn out for you Jennifer. It does sound like they didn’t quite get cooked through…the toothpick test can sometimes be deceiving.
These were good! I thought I undercooked them, so I put them back in for another Few minutes. In the end the bottom was “just right” with the rest being just barely done. I did add lemon zest to the dough and the glaze and I think it helped the overall flavor.
The flavor and concept is delicious however this is most definitely not a blondie. If your expecting a cookie/brownie flavor or consistency it truly needs more sugar. This is very much like an undercooked scone if you follow the recipe exactly. Mildly sweet and is undercooked or raw in the center. I recommend shaping these into scones to thoroughly cook and check periodically as it may cook faster but expect a mildly sweet moist scone like consistency. If your looking for more of a sweeter flavor I think adding some sugar or white chocolate chips probably taste amazing! Recipe is very versatile and delicious but truly needs some tweaking. I also find the lemon flavor very very mild. I think adding some zest to the dough would give it just a little more flavor boost that would be delicious.
First of all, love the recipe! I feel a little defeated though. I had them in for 30 minutes, but did more like 45 minutes and they were still undercooked. I wondered what I did wrong. I won’t let that stop me from trying again. I usually have a pretty decent successful outcome with new recipes. I have them back in the oven now…..
Can you use gluten free flour in this recipe?
A good gf baking mix will work well.
Love the concept but not what I expected.
Made this to give as Valentine’s treats. They turned out cute and delicious!
Just made these as an after school snack for the kids. First of all they filled the house with the most amazing smell! Second my girls LOVE the color of the pink strawberry glaze on top. And the flavor and texture are fabulous! I will say that I tasted the batter and I did add an extra 1/4 cup of sugar. I would’ve been fine with the amount indicated, but I thought they would be more appealing to my 8 year old triplet daughters if they were just a touch sweeter. Love this recipe! Thanks so much for sharing ??
These were so good. My neighbors loved them. I added 1/2 cup of white chocolate morsels. Not like it needed more sugar, but they were loved.
These are REALLY good but I added a little buttermilk to the batter because it was really thick.