Strawberry Squares
Sweet baked treats made with strawberry pie filling and topped with powdered sugar. These are adapted from a recipe found in the Magnolia Bakery cookbook. The original recipe used cherry pie filling, but strawberry works perfectly.
Sweet baked treats made with strawberry pie filling and topped with powdered sugar. These are adapted from a recipe found in the Magnolia Bakery cookbook. The original recipe used cherry pie filling, but strawberry works perfectly.
- Carbohydrate 196.867670236484 g
- Cholesterol 2070.79000020647 mg
- Fat 186.088065080981 g
- Fiber 6.75000012781009 g
- Protein 81.3715850323207 g
- Saturated Fat 101.01423054982 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Recipe (1027g)
- Sodium 3955.40500405612 mg
- Sugar 190.117670108674 g
- Trans Fat 19.923102506472 g
- Calories 2790 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 350°. Spray Baking Pam in a 13 x 9- inch baking pan.
- In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter with the granulated sugar until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla. Add the flour and mix thoroughly.
- Spread the dough evenly in the prepared pan. With a small, sharp knife (or toothpick), score into twenty-four 2-inch squares. Place a teaspoon of pie filling in the center of each scored square. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the pan comes out clean. Cool to room temperature, then sprinkle with confectioner's sugar before cutting and serving.
While traditional fruit bars rely on a dense shortbread base, this variation uses a cake-like batter that requires careful structural sequencing. Creaming the butter and granulated sugar at medium speed for two minutes incorporates tiny air pockets essential for rising. Adding large eggs sequentially at room temperature prevents the emulsion from breaking, ensuring a uniform crumb.
The Importance of Temperature and Timing
Preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit establishes the thermal environment necessary for the batter to set around the fruit filling. Baking takes between 30 and 35 minutes. Monitor the progress using a thin cake tester inserted into the center; when it emerges free of wet batter, the internal moisture has evaporated sufficiently. Allow the pan to cool completely to room temperature before dusting with confectioner's sugar to prevent the fine crystals from dissolving into a sticky glaze.
Chemical Interaction of Ingredients
The high proportion of sugar interacts with the egg proteins during baking to create delicate surface browning via the Maillard reaction. Meanwhile, the canned strawberry pie filling provides concentrated pectin and organic acids that contrast sharply with the sweet, buttery crumb surrounding each portion.
