Chocolate Strawberry Crumb Bars
A take on the classic strawberry crumb bars but make them chocolate! Buttery chocolate shortbread with strawberry jam, chocolate crumb topping, and a sweet glaze makes for a delicious treat! Try these Chocolate Strawberry Crumb Bars for a quick and easy dessert.
If you’re looking for more dessert bars, check out some of my other favorite recipes like Vegan Blueberry Bars With Frosting, Peanut Butter Cup Brownies, Sourdough Blueberry Crumb Bars, or Cherry Pie Bars.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Chocolate Strawberry Crumb Bars
- Ready In: 1 hour
- Makes: 9 bars
- Main Ingredients: salted butter, cane sugar, Dutch cocoa powder, strawberry jam
- Flavor Profile: rich chocolate with a sweet strawberry jam layer
- Dietary Info: eggless, no seed oils
- Difficulty: Easy!
- Why You’ll Love It: strawberry crumb bars but make them chocolate!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Twist on a Classic: This recipe for Chocolate Strawberry Crumb Bars is a twist on a classic! Instead of traditional vanilla shortbread, I’m making it chocolate! If you love bar cookies, you will love this chocolate twist.
- Buttery & Sweet: Crumb bars are buttery and sweet because they are made up of shortbread (one of my favorite kinds of cookies!). They are buttery, sweet, and have a perfect crispy element to them that pairs so nicely with the strawberry jam.
- Chocolate & Strawberry: Strawberry and chocolate are a classic combination! These Chocolate Strawberry Crumb Bars allow you to enjoy this classic flavor profile in snackable bar!
- Eggless: These crumb bars are naturally eggless, making them a delicious treat if you are serving anyone with an egg allergy. Or if you simply just run out of eggs, this is a great bake!
I'm obsessed with these chocolate-strawberry crumble bars as they are part of my new series I'm doing titled “Make it Chocolate!” where I take classic desserts and put a chocolate spin on them. You may have seen strawberry crumb bars, or strawberry crumble bars a million times over on Pinterest. But I'm combining classic easy strawberry bars with Dutch cocoa powder for a rich chocolate flavor for the best strawberry crumb bars!
If you are a self proclaimed chocoholic (like me), check out some other classic desserts that I have put a chocolate spin on! Some of my favorites include Double Chocolate Pumpkin Cookies, Bakery Style Chocolate S’mores Cookies With Fluff, Chocolate Olive Oil Caramel, and Eggless Chocolate Carrot Cake.
Ingredients
- Butter: I use Organic Valley Salted Butter, but you can use your favorite. It's melted in this recipe, which is nice because you can use it straight from the fridge.
- Light Brown Sugar: I use my homemade light brown sugar, but store bought also works.
- Dutch Cocoa Powder: I use organic Dutch cocoa powder which provides rich chocolate flavor to these bars.
- Strawberry Jam: I'm filling these with Organic Strawberry Jam With Fresh or Frozen Berries, you can use homemade or store bought in this strawberry bar recipe.
- Cornstarch: I add organic cornstarch mixed into the jam. This ensures that the jam solidifies in the oven as it cooks, preventing it from running out.
*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.
Baker's Tips for Chocolate Strawberry Crumb Bars
- Always use a digital food scale for the best results.
- I use melted butter in this recipe, which makes it super easy! You can melt the butter any way you like, whether you prefer stovetop or microwave.
- I use Dutch cocoa powder in this recipe as it’s sweeter and it’s my preferred cocoa for baking. If you only have natural cocoa powder, that will work, they may not be as sweet. But, if you prefer that, then natural cocoa powder is fine to use.
- This recipe for Chocolate Strawberry Crumb Bars uses strawberry jam. But if you want to switch it up, you totally can! You can use raspberry, blackberry, or blueberry – these would all be delicious with chocolate!
- The cornstarch is used to help thicken the jam so it won't leak out when the bars are cut. So, that's why it's a crucial part of this recipe. If you are avoiding corn, try Irish moss powder, potato starch, or tapioca starch in its place.
- This is a great recipe to bake ahead of time as they will stay good just out on the counter for a few days. So, if you need to bake dessert ahead of a party, this recipe is an awesome option!
- High Altitude — Bake the crust at 350°F for 12 minutes. Fill and add topping per the instructions, then bake again for 25 to 28 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and dry.
How to Make Chocolate Strawberry Crumb Bars
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper. In a small saucepan, melt the butter (or you can do this in the microwave, either works).
- To make the crust and topping: In a medium bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, cane sugar, and light brown sugar.
- Whisk together.
- Add in the melted butter and stir to combine completely.
- Reserve ½ cup for the topping and set aside.
- Using your hands, or a measuring cup, press the remaining crust into the bottom of the pan evenly.
- Bake the crust in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.
- To make the filling: In a small bowl, add the strawberry jam and cornstarch and stir together until combined.
- When the crust is done baking, remove from the oven. Add the strawberry filling on top.
- And sprinkle the remaining crumb topping on top.
- Return to the oven and bake for another 27 to 30 minutes, or until the topping looks dry. Allow to cool in the pan completely.
- To make the glaze: In a small bowl, add the powdered sugar and water and whisk until you have a smooth glaze.
- Drizzle the glaze over the top of the bars.
- Cut into 9 bars.
Recipe FAQ's
Crumb bars are a shortbread base so they are buttery and crisp. This is why we don't use baking soda or baking powder as these are a denser cookie bar. The combination of the dense shortbread crust, jammy filling and crumbly mixture on top makes these so delicious!
Yes! You can use raspberry, blueberry, or any other flavor you think would be delicious with chocolate!
Yes! All of my recipes have a simple high altitude adjustment in the Notes at the bottom of the recipe. So, if you are baking above 5,000 feet the be sure to check that note.
If you didn't partially bake the crust, the bars can be soggy. If you also don't put cornstarch in the jam, it can cause the bars to become soggy as the cornstarch solidifies the filling. So, don't skip the cornstarch. If you are avoiding corn or don't want to use cornstarch, use tapioca, arrowroot or potato starch in its place.
If you skipped the cornstarch, this will happen. This is important to solidify the filling. If you don't want to use cornstarch, use tapioca, arrowroot or potato starch instead.
Under baking. Crumb bars should be crispy, so ensure you are baking until done.
When the crumble topping looks dry and crispy.
If you don't let them cool completely, they will crumble when slicing. Make sure to let bars cool all the way before cutting.
Crumb bars are made up of a shortbread crust and crumble topping. Both of which need to be kept in a cool dry place to retain the buttery, crisp texture. So these are best stored out on the counter. Don't put these in a tupperware or cake dome as it could make them soggy or mushy.
Because the jam is baked, I don't usually store these in the fridge as we usually eat them within a couple days! If you are going to keep them longer than a few days, I recommend keeping in the fridge.
More Strawberry Recipes
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Chocolate Strawberry Crumb Bars
Equipment
- Digital Food Scale
- Mixing Bowl
- 8×8-inch Baking Pan
- Parchment Paper Sheets
Ingredients
Crust & Topping
- 160 grams all purpose flour
- 43 grams Dutch cocoa powder (sifted)
- 113 grams cane sugar
- 113 grams light brown sugar (packed)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 113 grams salted butter (melted)
Filling
- 255 grams strawberry jam
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Glaze
- 142 grams powdered sugar (sifted)
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter (or you can do this in the microwave, either works).
- To make the crust and topping: In a medium bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, cane sugar, light brown sugar, and vanilla extract, and mix together. Add in the melted butter and stir to combine completely.
- Reserve ½ cup for the topping and set aside. Using your hands, or a measuring cup, press the remaining crust into the bottom of the pan evenly.
- Bake the crust in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.
- To make the filling: In a small bowl, add the strawberry jam and cornstarch and stir together until combined.
- When the crust is done baking, remove from the oven. Add the strawberry filling on top. And sprinkle the remaining crumb topping on top.
- Return to the oven and bake for another 27 to 30 minutes, or until the topping looks dry. Allow to cool in the pan completely.
- To make the glaze: In a small bowl, add the powdered sugar and water and whisk until you have a smooth glaze.
- Drizzle the glaze over the top of the bars.
- Cut into 9 bars.
- Store in a cool dry place for up to 3 days.
Video
Notes
- Always use a digital food scale for the best results.
- I use melted butter in this recipe, which makes it super easy! You can melt the butter any way you like, whether you prefer stovetop or microwave.
- I use Dutch cocoa powder in this recipe as it’s sweeter and it’s my preferred cocoa for baking. If you only have natural cocoa powder, that will work, they may not be as sweet. But, if you prefer that, then natural cocoa powder is fine to use.
- This recipe for Chocolate Strawberry Crumb Bars uses strawberry jam. But if you want to switch it up, you totally can! You can use raspberry, blackberry, or blueberry – these would all be delicious with chocolate!
- The cornstarch is used to help thicken the jam so it won't leak out when the bars are cut. So, that's why it's a crucial part of this recipe. If you are avoiding corn, try Irish moss powder, potato starch, or tapioca starch in its place.
- This is a great recipe to bake ahead of time as they will stay good just out on the counter for a few days. So, if you need to bake dessert ahead of a party, this recipe is an awesome option!
- High Altitude — Bake the crust at 350°F for 12 minutes. Fill and add topping per the instructions, then bake again for 25 to 28 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and dry.
Nutrition
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Love this twist on the classic strawberry crumb bars — chocolate just makes them better!
Delicious! A perfect treat both kids and adults LOVE.