Description
Delicious strawberry cream cheese shortbread bars with a buttery crust, creamy filling, and refreshing strawberry topping.
Ingredients
Scale
- Crust
- ½ cup unsalted butter, very soft (1 stick)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt, optional or to taste
- Filling
- 4 ounces brick-style cream cheese, softened (lite is okay)
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 to 2 teaspoons almond extract, I used 2
- Frosting
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, very soft almost melting (half of 1 stick)
- 1 ¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 to 2 teaspoons almond extract
- about 2 tablespoons cream or milk
- about ¾ cup fresh strawberries, diced or sliced into small pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine all crust ingredients. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until evenly distributed and pea-sized lumps form.
- Turn mixture out into the prepared pan and hard-pack it to create an even crust layer.
- Bake crust for about 15 minutes, or just until barely set.
- In a large bowl, add all filling ingredients and whisk or beat until smooth.
- Pour filling mixture over the baked crust and lightly spread into corners.
- Return pan to oven and bake for about 16 to 19 minutes, or until filling is set.
- Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, heat butter until very soft. Add confectioners’ sugar, almond extract, and cream while whisking or mixing until desired consistency is reached.
- Evenly frost the bars and allow to cool in the pan for at least 1 hour before slicing and serving.
- Before serving, sprinkle evenly with strawberries.
Notes
- For a stronger almond flavor, increase almond extract in filling and frosting.
- Let frosting set for better slicing.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 34 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 200
- Sugar: 10g
- Sodium: 150mg
- Fat: 10g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 25g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 30mg