Chef notes
The familiar jingle of the ice cream truck is permanently imbedded in my memory. We have a truck that comes by our house in the summer nearly every evening, right around dinner time, setting off a Pavlovian response that leads us to suddenly want a sweet frozen treat. The wildly popular strawberry shortcake bar is a favorite of many kids and adults alike, thanks to its famous strawberry cake crunch coating.
I wanted to recreate that distinctive flavor of the strawberry shortcake bar at home with an easy-to-make recipe that used store-bought ingredients. Instead of creating popsicles, which requires a mold and wooden sticks, I decided to use an 8-by-8-inch baking pan for simple bars. Combining vanilla ice cream and strawberry sorbet provides the same visual contrast of the original treat. I added an additional layer of fresh, sliced strawberries for added flavor and texture.
The base is a cookie crust, the kind that you might use for lemon or raspberry bars. If you already have a favorite recipe, you can use that as the base. I like to use store-bought shortbread cookies, which make for a delicious crust and double as part of the cake crunch topping. The strawberry crunch comes from dehydrated strawberries, which are easy to find in the grocery store.
This recipe comes together very quickly. The hardest part is waiting for the entire thing to set in the freezer while you eagerly wait to dig in.
Get Ingredients: If you don’t have everything you need on hand, you can easily purchase all of the ingredients (just click the orange button below that says ‘Get Ingredients’). You can pick and choose exactly what ingredients you need based on what’s in your pantry and they’ll be on your doorstep before you know it.
Technique Tip: Lining the baking pan with parchment is key for removing the squares from the pan. Cut the parchment so that it’s eight-inches wide and the overhang on the top and bottom of the parchment is about four-inches long, making it easy to grab and lift. While a food processor is essential for making the crust, you could easily crush the freeze-dried berries and shortbread for the topping by rolling with a rolling pin.
Swap Option: If you can’t find shortbread cookies, the same amount of vanilla sandwich cookies would also work. Raspberry sorbet would be just as delicious as strawberry.
Ingredients
- 3 (5.3-ounce) boxes shortbread cookies, divided
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 (0.7-ounce) package freeze-dried strawberries
- 2 cups softened vanilla ice cream
- 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
- 2 cups softened strawberry sorbet
Preparation
1. Line 8-by-8-inch pan with parchment paper.
2. Place shortbread from 2 of the boxes in a food processor and pulse until it resembles sand. Add melted butter and pulse a few more times. Transfer to the prepared pan and press evenly into the pan. Cover with foil and place in the refrigerator to chill.
3. Wipe out the bowl of the food processor. Add freeze-dried strawberries and pulse until they resemble large crumbs. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
4. Wipe out the bowl of the processor again. Add 4 shortbread cookies and pulse until they resemble large crumbs. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
5. Remove the pan from the refrigerator. Using an offset spatula, evenly spread the softened vanilla ice cream over the top. Arrange sliced strawberries on top of the ice cream in a single layer. Cover with foil and place in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Remove the pan from the freezer. Using an offset spatula, spread the softened sorbet evenly over the berry layer. Sprinkle with ¼ cup each of the reserved crushed berries and shortbread. Cover with foil and return to freezer to chill for 20 to 30 minutes, until firm.
7. When ready to serve, remove the pan from the freezer. Lift up the ends of the parchment paper and place the bars on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to cut into 16 squares. Enjoy immediately or place in an airtight container and return to the freezer.
