Strawberry Lemon Blondies Recipe Easy Buttery Fruity Bars with Tangy Glaze

Strawberry Lemon Blondies

Strawberries and lemon are equal partners in these bars. Neither flavor wins. The berries soften into jammy little pockets while the lemon keeps everything bright and just tart enough to send you back for a second square.

The bars themselves are soft and dense, closer to a tender shortbread than a chewy brownie, and they come together quickly enough for a weeknight when company is on the way.

This is the dessert I bring when I want to look like I fussed without actually fussing. One bowl for the batter, one small bowl for the glaze, one pan in the oven.

The recipe makes 12 bars in a 9 inch square pan, with 15 minutes of prep and about 30 minutes in a 350F oven, so you are looking at roughly 45 minutes start to finish before the cooling step.

Here is what goes into each part.

For the blondies

For the pink glaze

One bar lands around 319 calories, with 42 grams of carbohydrate, 16 grams of fat, 3 grams of protein, and 23 grams of sugar based on the source nutrition.

strawberry lemon blondies ingredient notes

Strawberries do most of the heavy lifting in the texture department, so pick the reddest, ripest berries you can find. Baking softens and sweetens them, which means even firm early season strawberries will taste lovely once they are tucked into the batter.

Frozen berries are a different story. They add far too much moisture and will leave you with a wet, heavy bar. If frozen is your only option, thaw and drain them very well first, but fresh really is better here.

For the lemon, plan on two lemons. Juice yield swings a lot from fruit to fruit, and you need 1/4 cup for the batter plus about 1 tablespoon for the glaze. Thin skinned lemons tend to give up the most juice, so choose those when you can. A quick roll on the counter before juicing helps too.

Everything else is pantry basics: unsalted butter at room temperature, sugar, one large egg, all purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. For the glaze you need powdered sugar, the strained strawberry puree, and lemon juice.

prep and baking tips

The method is straightforward, and the only real traps are uneven spreading and a minute or two too long in the oven.

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Line a 9 inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving long edges hanging over the sides. This step is optional, but it lets you lift the whole slab out for easy glazing and slicing later.
3. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, then beat in the egg.
4. When the egg is fully incorporated, beat in the lemon juice. It probably will not fully incorporate at this point, and that is completely fine.
5. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, add them to the wet ingredients, and mix until no dry flour remains.
6. Gently fold in the diced strawberries, then spread the mixture into the pan as evenly as you can. The dough is thick, so take your time. A large offset spatula makes this job much easier.
7. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, just until the edges start to turn golden and the center is set. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out moist but not wet. Do not overbake, or the bars will dry out. Let them cool on a rack.
8. For the glaze, puree trimmed strawberries in a small food processor and strain the puree to get 1 tablespoon. Whisk the powdered sugar, puree, and lemon juice until no lumps remain. If the glaze is too thin, add a touch more sugar. If it is too thick, add more lemon juice.
9. Spread the glaze over the cooled blondies and let it set before slicing.

A few habits make a real difference. Dice the berries instead of slicing them so they distribute evenly instead of clumping in one corner.

Spread the thick batter all the way into the corners and level the top, otherwise one side bakes faster than the other. Watch the oven closely if yours runs hot.

And let the bars cool fully before the glaze goes on, because a warm surface pulls the glaze straight down into the crumb.

I recommend a 9″ square ceramic baking dish

A 9 inch square pan is the right size for this batch. I reach for ceramic or stoneware because it bakes gently and evenly, without scorching the edges before the middle is set. Metal pans work, but they tend to run hot, and these bars are unforgiving about that.

Look for a dish with side handles if you can. Lifting a hot pan of blondies out of the oven is much less nerve wracking with something to grab, and you will be doing it with a potluck on the schedule. Parchment paper with long overhanging edges does the rest of the work for you.

Whatever you use, keep it square and keep it 9 inches. A different size changes the thickness of the dough and throws off the baking time.

The pretty pink glaze is naturally colored

There is no food coloring in this glaze. The pink comes from 1 tablespoon of strained strawberry puree, which is why the color looks soft and real instead of neon.

Trim about two large strawberries, puree them in a small food processor, then push the puree through a fine strainer. You want a smooth liquid with no seeds or pulp, and you want exactly 1 tablespoon of it.

Whisk that together with 1 cup of sifted powdered sugar and about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice until the glaze is glossy and lump free.

Wait until the blondies have cooled before you drizzle. Spread it across the top, give it a few minutes to set, and then slice. The glaze should be thick enough to sit on top rather than soak in.

what to expect from strawberry lemon blondies

These bars are moist and dense, and they melt in your mouth rather than crumble. Think soft shortbread with jammy pockets running through it, thanks to 1 cup of diced fresh strawberries folded into the batter. The lemon does not shout, it just keeps the sweetness in check with a bright, tangy finish.

What surprises people is how much fruit flavor comes through after baking. Strawberries that were only okay on their own turn soft and sweet inside the bar. The glaze adds a second hit of lemon and a little extra sweetness on top.

If you are used to blondies loaded with nuts and chocolate, this is a different experience entirely. Strawberries and lemon take those spots, and the result feels lighter and more seasonal. They are also sturdy enough to stack in a container, which matters when you are the one driving them across town.

storing and freezing

Keep the blondies at room temperature and cover them loosely with foil. Skip the plastic wrap. Because of all that fruit, they already hold plenty of moisture, and plastic traps it until the tops turn sticky. Foil lets just enough air move around them.

They will stay good for a few days that way, though I have never personally tested the outer limit.

To freeze, let the bars cool completely first. Wrap them in plastic, then in foil, and use them within one month. Thaw at room temperature when you are ready. A completely cooled bar freezes cleanly and thaws without turning soggy, which makes this a nice one to make ahead for a gathering.

variation suggestions

This recipe plays well with swaps. Blueberries or raspberries can stand in for the strawberries, and raspberries in particular give a lovely deep pink crumb. Mixed berries work too.

If you want a simpler finish, skip the strawberry puree and make a plain lemon glaze with lemon juice and powdered sugar. It is just as good, just less pink.

For a gluten free version, replace the all purpose flour with a quality gluten free baking mix, such as Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur Flour. Readers report good results with a one to one style blend.

If you like your desserts on the less sweet side, cut the sugar down to 1/2 cup. Some readers go a step further and reduce it by 1/4 cup from the original amount. Either way, taste the batter and trust yourself.

summary of 4,000+ reviews!

More than 4,000 reader reviews have piled up on this recipe, and the tone is overwhelmingly positive. The words that come up again and again are easy, moist, and balanced. Readers love that the lemon and strawberry share the spotlight instead of one overpowering the other, and many say the glaze is what pushes it over the top.

The most common piece of advice in the comments is simple: do not overbake. A toothpick should come out mostly clean, not completely clean. If it looks dry and pulls away from the sides, it has gone too far.

Other practical notes from readers:

• Toss the diced strawberries in a little flour before folding them in. It helps keep them from sinking to the bottom.
• If the glaze is too thick to spread, add extra lemon juice a little at a time until it loosens up.
• Cool the bars completely before slicing for clean, even cuts.
• Raspberries, blueberries, and mixed berries all work as swaps. So does a gluten free blend from Bob’s Red Mill.
• Some readers found the bars sweeter than they like and cut the sugar by 1/4 cup.
• Frozen strawberries are generally not recommended because they add too much moisture. If you use them anyway, thaw and drain them very well.

Storage advice from readers lines up with the main recipe. Keep the bars at room temperature under loose foil rather than plastic. For longer storage, cool them completely, wrap in plastic and then foil, and use within one month.

If you remember only one thing from the comments, make it this: pull the pan out when the center is barely set. Moist is the goal, dry is the only real way to ruin these bars.

FAQs

Strawberry Lemon Blondies

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Strawberry Lemon Blondies Strawberries and lemon are equal partners in these bars. Neither flavor wins.

• Total Time: 45 min
• Yield: 12 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

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
1 Tbsp lemon juice, or just enough to thin the glaze to a spreadable consistency

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

1-Preheat the oven to 350F: Preheat the oven to 350F.
2-Line a 9 inch square baking pan: 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.
3-Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy: Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg.
4-When the egg is fully incorporated, beat: 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.
5-Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and: Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, and add to the wet ingredients, mixing until no more dry flour is present.
6-Gently fold in the diced strawberries: 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.
7-Bake for 30-35 minutes, just until starting: 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.
8-Trim the strawberries for the glaze and: 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.
9-Spread the glaze over the cooled blondies: Spread the glaze over the cooled blondies. Let the glaze set before slicing.

Last Step:

Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.

• Prep Time: 15 min
• Cook Time: 30 min
• Method: bake

Nutrition

• Calories: 319 kcal
• Sugar: 23 g
• Sodium: 105 mg
• Fat: 16 g
• Saturated Fat: 10 g
• Carbohydrates: 42 g
• Fiber: 1 g
• Protein: 3 g
• Cholesterol: 54 mg