Strawberry Pistachio Bars

Happy Valentine’s Day!

As always, I used freeze-dried strawberries to add strawberry flavor to these bars. I discovered freeze-dried strawberries 2 years ago and they have been a game changer for my strawberry desserts! They are a great way to add natural strawberry flavor without ruining the texture or using something artificial! Using pureed strawberries is great, but some times they make a mixture too wet.

Strawberry Pistachio Bars

Servings: 9
Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients

Strawberry Pistachio Blondies:

16 oz unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp salt

2 cups flour

1 oz freeze dried strawberries, finely grounded

3 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup pistachios, crushed

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Brown the butter until it becomes golden brown. Place in the fridge to cool down for 25-30 minutes.
Sift together the flour, salt, and finely grounded freeze-dried strawberries. (I use a 1.2 oz bag from Trader Joes and grind them in a food processor).
In a separate large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together for 1-2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. Beat in each egg one at a time, until incorporated. Slowly beat in the flour mixture.
Use a spatula to spread along a greased 9×13 baking dish. Sprinkle crushed pistachios on top. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, until edges become golden brown.
Optional: Boil 1/2 cup sugar with 1/2 cup water and 1 Tbsp of honey. Be careful not to brown the sugar, just boil until thickened enough to make a syrup to pour over the top. You could also drizzle warm honey on top.

These bars are best served as soon as possible while they are still warm.