I made these strawberry chocolate chip crumble bars right after I got back from a trip to California with Best Food Facts. One of my favorite activities was a visit to the family-owned and run T&Y Strawberry Patch in Woodland, CA. After seeing, learning about, picking and tasting the delicious fresh-from-the-farm strawberries, I was totally inspired to make a strawberry dessert.
(This post is sponsored by Best Food Facts. All opinions remain my own.)
I mean, how can you not be inspired from strawberries like these? Beautiful!
This particular variety is the Albion, which is a summer berry, and T&Y also grows the Chandler in the spring. The six-acre farm does a booming farmstand business, and it’s no wonder… the strawberries they produce are in.cred.ible.
Pssst, the brighter the berry, the sweeter the flavor!
Their other fruits and veggies look equally appetizing, but they’re known (and named) for their strawberries. It’s their greatest commodity.
T&Y grows their strawberries conventionally with drip irrigation which allows for precise watering without waste which is especially important now with the terrible drought California is experiencing. They also practice sustainable farming by rotating their crops annually.
Did you know? California produces 80% of the nation’s strawberry supply and 20% of the world’s supply. It’s true!
While the bigger farms will harvest from the same plants for 2 or 3 years before replanting, T&Y replants new plants every year. This allows them to get a better volume of strawberries each season, all of which are handpicked by the family.
As you probably know, strawberries find themselves listed on the dirty dozen list, so you might be wondering about the difference in pesticide residue between organic and conventional strawberries. Thankfully, there’s no need to worry about that!
A man could eat 2,640 servings of strawberries in a day and still not get any adverse effects from pesticide residue (even if the foods had the highest level of pesticide residue recorded by the USDA). Good news for all of us!
Strawberries are happiness, so enjoy them without worries!
And try whipping up a batch of these strawberry chocolate chip crumble bars.
I used a combination of freshly chopped strawberries and some strawberry preserves I brought back from T&Y.
I spread the mixture over the top of an oatmeal crumble crust with chocolate chips, and then baked.
Mmmmm….
The bars taste delicious with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top too!
Strawberry Chocolate Chip Crumble Bars
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup flour
- 1 ¼ cup quick-cooking oats
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips divided
- ¾ cup butter melted
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup chopped strawberries
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 cup strawberry preserves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place chopped strawberries in a separate small bowl. Stir in 1 Tbsp of sugar and the lemon juice; let sit for 5-10 minutes while you make crumble crust.
- In medium bowl, combine dry ingredients and half the chocolate chips. Add melted butter and vanilla; mix until crumbly. Measure 1 cup of the crumble mix and set aside. Press remaining crumble into 13" x 9"- inch ungreased baking pan.
- Spread strawberry preserves mixture over the top. Sprinkle on remaining chocolate chips.
- Bake 30-35 minutes or until crumble topping is lightly browned.
