Strawberry Bars

• Position rack in the center of the oven and heat to 375° F.
• Lightly grease an 8″ x 8″ glass baking dish and set aside.
• In a medium mixing bowl combine ½ cup of the sugar with, flour, baking powder, and salt.
• In a small cup, lightly beat the egg. Add egg and vanilla to the flour mixture. Cut in one stick of butter with a pastry cutter or fork until dough resembles small crumbles.
• Pat a little more that half of the crumbled dough into the prepared baking dish and set the remaining dough aside.
• Mix the remaining ¼ cup of sugar with the cornstarch and toss with the sliced berries.
• Spread berries evenly over dough.
• Add brown sugar, cinnamon, 2 Tablespoons of butter, and oats to the remaining dough and combine. Crumble over the top of the strawberries.
• Bake for about 45 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. Allow to cool completely before icing (optional).

Icing

• Mix sugar and extract in a small bowl adding water drop by drop as needed. Icing should be thin enough to drizzle with a spoon or pipe from a plastic bag.

• Wash, drain, and hull your strawberries. As you are working with the strawberries, discard any that are questionable, (it is important not to include any berries that appear damaged, they will shorten the length of time your product will keep).
• In a large bowl, crush the berries in batches using a potato masher. Transfer the crushed berries into a large heavy-bottomed sauce pan. Add the juice that was collected in the bowl that you used to crush the berries. Add sugar and lemon, and heat over a medium heat while stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
• Increase the heat to high and bring the strawberry mixture to a boil, stirring constantly (as the mixture boils it will increase dramatically in volume, use caution and do not leave unattended). When the jam has come to a complete boil, reduce heat medium high and continue to boil until the mixture reaches a temperature of 220°F, stirring often. Use a candy thermometer to monitor temperature.
• Remove from heat and allow to cool. Transfer into jars or storage containers. Jam can be held in the refrigerator for up to three weeks, or frozen for up to a year.
• The jam can also be sealed in jars and processed in a water bath for long-term storage. Sterilize jars, rings, and lids. Fill jars leaving ¼” of head room. Process in hot water bath for 10 minutes to seal. If you have any questions regarding safe canning procedures, refer to your canning guide, or check out Introduction to Canning from Ball.