Strawberries and lemons meet in a delightful, easy treat

Spring is the season of lemon desserts and strawberry desserts -- "light" ones, you know. But lemon desserts often are too sweet -- as if the baker were afraid that natural tartness would offend. And strawberry desserts -- shortcake, for example -- can be bland unless the strawberries are fresh from the field, dead-ripe and juicy. Less-wonderful strawberries often get oversweetened to compensate.

Ah, but put these two flavors together and now you have something fun. Enter strawberry lemonade bars, a recipe I found on the King Arthur Baking website. It's a lovely, easy recipe, made in two steps -- no electric mixer required. I revised a few things, including reducing the sugar in the cookie, and now can recommend it as a delicious treat for any spring holiday or tea party.

The bars are not "lemon bars," by the way. No lemon curd is involved.  Instead, these are chewy lemon cookie bars, topped with a strawberry-infused frosting. You could skip the frosting entirely, and decorate the batter with sprinkles or colored sugar, for example. But the creamy pink top makes these bars extra special.

The ingredient that kept me from trying this recipe sooner was the freeze-dried strawberries, which are crushed and added to the frosting. These berries have an intense strawberry flavor without the juiciness, perfect for baking. I was thrilled to find them at Trader Joe's.

And because it is strawberry season, I couldn't resist adding some fresh strawberry to the frosting, which went together so easily. But my first reaction to a taste from the bowl was "Oh, no, it's too sweet!"

The extra lemon I'd zested was sitting nearby, and proved to be the answer: A bit of fresh lemon juice not only balanced the sweetness, it made the frosting easier to spread, too.

Strawberry lemonade bars

Adapted from King Arthur Baking

Makes 16 2-by-2-inch bars

Ingredients:

Cookie base:

1 cup granulated sugar

Zest from 2 lemons

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 eggs, room temperature

1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Strawberry frosting (optional):

3/4 to 1 cup (16 grams) freeze-dried strawberries 

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 tablespoon milk or heavy cream, or more as needed

1 large strawberry, hulled and diced or thinly sliced (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment, leaving "handles" of a few inches on two sides, and grease it lightly. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, rub the lemon zest into the sugar, then add the salt and vanilla extract.

Melt the butter in the microwave or on the stove, stir in the lemon juice, and then blend it into the sugar mixture, stirring vigorously for 30 seconds after the initial blending. Add the eggs and continue stirring until just combined.

Blend in the flour and baking powder until no streaks of flour remain -- a flexible spatula works best for this.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly, with special attention to the pan's corners.

Bake for 28 to 30 minutes until the center is set and the bars are starting to turn golden. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out with a few moist crumbs -- this is a chewy cookie, not a cake.

Allow the bars to cool completely in the pan while the frosting is prepared.

Place the freeze-dried strawberries in a small plastic bag (don't forget to close it!) and crush them with a rolling pin or heavy drinking glass. They don't need to be powdered, just broken up somewhat.

In a medium bowl, combine the crushed strawberries, softened butter and salt until the strawberries are evenly combined. Yes, it will be thick.

Add the confectioner's sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and the 1/2 tablespoon milk or cream. Stir well until the mixture becomes light and fluffy. Add a bit more milk as needed. Finally, stir in the fresh strawberry pieces if using.

Spread the frosting over the cooled cookie base. If you won't be serving for awhile, cover the pan and refrigerate. This will help firm up the frosting if it's a little soft.

When ready to cut and serve, lift the cookies out of the pan using the "handles" of  parchment paper. Move the cookie square to a cutting board, and use a large knife to cut into 16 squares, or desired size.

Serve garnished with more strawberries, if desired.