In the wake of Queen Elizabeth II’s death, news sources are filled with colorful anecdotes about her life. One such story describes wild strawberry picking in the pine forests that surround Balmoral Castle. (No. Wait. That sentence didn’t come out right. “Wild strawberry picking” sounds more Woodstock than Balmoral. How about: “One such story describes the Queen picking wild strawberries.” )
Reportedly, gathering strawberries at Balmoral was one of the late Queen’s favorite relaxing pastimes. The fruits of her forays were brought back to the castle’s chef who turned them into jams and desserts. It has been reported that the Queen adored strawberries in every iteration and her absolute favorite sweet treat was jam pennies (small round “pennies” cut out of white bread) slathered in strawberry jelly or jam.
I know. I know. You are saying but…but…but…wasn’t that a marmalade sandwich that she pulled out of her purse in the delightful Paddington Bear skit that aired during the Jubilee Celebration? (The skit was brilliant, by the way—worth watching again (and again): The Queen, Paddington the Bear and Marmalade Sandwiches.)
Inarguably, the United Kingdom is known for orange marmalade–Fortnum and Mason, Wilkin and Sons, and on and on. And there is no doubt that the Queen, like sweet little Paddington who always carries a marmalade sandwich in his hat, loved marmalade, too. But my guess is that there were strawberry jam pennies rolling around somewhere in that signature purse of hers, too.
So, in the spirit of the moment, here is a strawberry recipe for this week. These Strawberry Basil Crumb Bars are easy to bake and delicious. The recipe turns fresh end-of-the-season strawberries into a gooey jammy filling and throws in an unexpected bit of basil flavor. We can’t help but think that the Queen would approve.
These Strawberry Bars are from Jessie Sheehan’s cookbook Snackable Bakes. You can find the book in your local bookstore or on Amazon here.
Here’s the recipe as I made it in my kitchen.
Strawberry Basil Crumb Bars
Ingredients
- For the filling:
- 2 T. fresh basil (finely chopped)
- 1/3 C. granulated sugar
- 2 t. cornstarch
- 2 1/2 C. fresh strawberries (chopped)
- 2 t. fresh lemon juice
- For the Crumb/Crust:
- 1 C. all-purpose flour
- 1 C. quick oats
- 3/4 t. kosher salt
- 3/4 C. granulated sugar
- 10 T. unsalted butter (cold and cubed)
- 1 t. vanilla extract
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 375 degrees F., grease (or baking spray) an 8-inch square baking pan and line the pan with parchment. (Cut the parchment larger than the size of your pan so that you have long sides hanging-over two of the sides of the pan. These long sides will give you “handles” to use to remove the bars from the pan without breaking the bars. )
- Step 2 To prepare the filling, finely chop the fresh basil. Then, add the chopped basil to the sugar and rub the two ingredients together with your fingers to infuse the sugar with the basil flavor. Add the cornstarch to the sugar mixture and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Step 3 To prepare the crumb mixture, add the flour, oats, salt and sugar the bowl of your food processor. Process to combine. Add the cold butter cubes to this dry mixture and process with the pulse feature of processor. Pulse several times (and briefly!) until the butter is incorporated into the dry mixture but remains in pea-sized pieces. Pour this mixture into a bowl, stir in the vanilla, and squeeze the mixture together with your fingers until the dough holds together. Press two-thirds of this dough into the bottom of your prepared baking pan. Set aside.
- Step 4 Roughly chop the fresh strawberries. Add the strawberries to the basil-sugar mixture. Stir in the lemon juice. Scatter the berries onto the top of the crust you have pressed into your baking pan. Then, sprinkle the remaining 1/3 of the crumb mixture on top of the berries.
- Step 5 Bake in a 375 degree F. oven for about 60 minutes. When your bars are done the top of the crumb mixture will be a light golden brown and the strawberry filling will be bubbling.
- Step 6 Remove your baked bars from the oven and let them sit on your counter for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, run a knife along the sides of the pan (the sides without a parchment overhang) to release the bars from sticking to the pan. Continue to cool the bars until they are totally cool. Again, run a knife around the edges of the pan. Then, lift the bars out of the pan using the long sides of the parchment as handles.
- Step 7 Slice the bars and enjoy.
