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These Strawberry Brownies are soft, fudgy, and packed with real strawberry flavor from both fresh and freeze-dried strawberries. The batter comes together in one bowl and finishes with a glossy white chocolate strawberry glaze that sets beautifully on top.
I love strawberry season! I’m always looking for ways to put them in a dessert like my strawberry sheet cake and strawberry shortcake biscuits or in a drink like my strawberry matcha latte or strawberry lemonade sangria.
This recipe is a love letter to strawberries. It uses the base recipe of my lemon brownies. I swapped out the lemon zest for freeze-dried strawberries because they add bold flavor without introducing extra moisture to the batter. Then I fold in perfectly ripe fresh strawberries. I also use lemon juice in the batter and the glaze to help enhance the strawberry flavor.
Ingredients Youโll Need for Strawberry Brownies
- Freeze-dried strawberries – These give the brownies concentrated strawberry flavor without watering down the batter.
- Fresh strawberries – Fresh diced strawberries add little pockets of juicy texture throughout the brownies and more layers of strawberry flavor.
- Unsalted butter – Butter gives these brownies their rich, soft texture and helps create the slightly chewy edges.
- White chocolate – I like to use the Ghirardelli melting wafers for a smooth, silky glaze.
- Fresh lemon juice – Adding a bit of lemon juice to the batter and glaze brightens the strawberry flavor and keeps the bars from tasting overly sweet.
For the rest of the ingredients, please refer to the recipe index card below!
Testing Notes
The first test baked up a bit too dark and overdone, so I reduced the bake time for the next round. When the strawberry brownies come out of the oven, the center will still look puffed and slightly underdone, donโt worry, theyโll continue to set as they cool in the pan.
The original glaze was too thick and closer to a frosting. Adding lemon juice not only balanced the sweetness with a bit of acidity, but also helped create a smoother, glossier glaze texture.
How to Make Strawberry Brownies
- Pulse the freeze-dried strawberries into a fine powder, then reserve 2 teaspoons for the glaze.
- Beat the strawberry sugar, softened butter, and vanilla extract.
- Add the lemon juice and eggs and mix.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and kosher salt and mix on low speed just until combined.
- Fold in the diced fresh strawberries.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350F for 35 to 37 minutes.
- Let cool before glazing.
- Melt the white chocolate with the lemon juice, then stir in the reserved strawberry powder and salt.
- Pour over the cooled brownies and let the glaze set before slicing.
Quick Tips for the Best Strawberry Brownies
Add pink food coloring if desired. The brownies naturally bake up a muted pink color, so a small drop of coloring can brighten them if you want a more vibrant finish.
Microwave the glaze gently. White chocolate can seize quickly, so short intervals and frequent stirring help keep it smooth.
Let the brownies cool completely before glazing. If theyโre still warm, the glaze will melt and slide instead of setting neatly on top.
Sift the freeze-dried strawberry powder before adding it to the glaze to avoid clumping.
Use a hand mixer for a smooth glaze. This helps remove any clumps of strawberry powder in the glaze.
Make-Ahead & Storage
Make Ahead: These strawberry brownies are perfect to make the day before and glaze the next day.
Storage: Store leftover brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
If you tried this Strawberry Brownies recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a ๐ star rating and let me know how it went in the ๐ comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Strawberry Brownies
Equipment
Ingredients
Strawberry Brownies:
- 1 1/3 (287g) cup granulated sugar
- 1 (24g) cup freeze-dried strawberries, divided
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, from about 1 lemon
- 2 large eggs
- 1 drop red food coloring, (optional)
- 1 1/4 (162g) cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- ยพ (108g) cup medium diced fresh strawberries
White Chocolate Strawberry Glaze:
- 3/4 (113g) cup white chocolate, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, from about 1 lemon
- Pinch kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons freeze-dried strawberry powder, from above
Instructions
To Make the Strawberry Brownies:
- Preheat the oven to 350โ. Grease and line an 8x8inch pan and place a piece of parchment that spans just the center length with the ends of the parchment hanging over the edge of the pan. Press the parchment flat so it adheres to the bottom and sides of the pan.
- In a small food processor or blender, add the freeze-dried strawberries. Pulse until you have strawberry powder. Remove 2 teaspoons, keep it in an airtight container (we will use this later for the glaze and we donโt want it to clump up). Then add the sugar to the rest of the strawberry powder and briefly pulse until combined – it should look like pink sugar.
- Add the strawberry sugar, to a bowl, along with the unsalted butter and vanilla extract. Using a hand mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy, about 1 minute.
- Then add lemon juice and eggs. Quickly beat together on medium speed until combined and smooth. If you want it to be a super bright pink, add a small drop of food coloring into the mix. This is of course optional!
- Now, add your dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt. Beat on low speed until just combined. Then gently fold in the fresh strawberries.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared baking dish. Bake the strawberry brownies for 35-37 minutes until golden and crackly on top. Let cool for at least 30 minutes before removing it from the baking pan and adding the glaze. The center will be puffed up but as it cools it will fall slightly and set.
To Make the White Chocolate Strawberry Glaze:
- Meanwhile, make the white chocolate glaze. Add the white chocolate and lemon juice to a bowl. Microwave in intervals of 20 seconds, until the white chocolate has completely melted. (If you donโt have a microwave, use a double boiler.) Stir until combined and glossy. Then sift in the reserved two teaspoons of strawberry powder and pinch of salt, stir to combine.
- Pour the white chocolate strawberry glaze over the strawberry brownies and move the pan around to encourage the glaze to cover the entire surface of the brownies. Allow the glaze to set for at least 20 minutes before slicing.
- Slice it up and serve. To store, keep in an airtight container for up to three days at room temperature.
Notes
Quick Tips
Add pink food coloring if desired. The brownies naturally bake up a muted pink color, so a small drop of coloring can brighten them if you want a more vibrant finish. Microwave the glaze gently. White chocolate can seize quickly, so short intervals and frequent stirring help keep it smooth. Let the brownies cool completely before glazing. If theyโre still warm, the glaze will melt and slide instead of setting neatly on top. Sift the freeze-dried strawberry powder before adding it to the glaze to avoid clumping. Use a hand mixer for a smooth glaze. This helps remove any clumps of strawberry powder in the glaze.Make Ahead & Storage
Make Ahead: These strawberry brownies are perfect to make the day before and glaze the next day. Storage: Store leftover brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Could you add more freezer dried strawberries to get a more red color. Triying to avoid red food coloring for a nephew.
Unfortunately to really get that pink color you’ll need food coloring. But I added zero food coloring the the top! And that’s really what presents it as pink. You just really have to blend it through the glaze.
Is there anything that could replace the white chocolate in the glaze? Not a big fan of it but these bars look amazing.
Sorry this is how we tested it. We tried a just powdered sugar glaze and it was way too sweet. The white chocolate gives a nice creamy-not-too-sweet texture. ๐
I ended up making them with a cream cheese type of glaze.
Question – is the nutritional information for the whole batch or per slice?
Where do I buy freeze dried strawberry powder? Iโve never seen. Thanks!
Hi Kathy, you make the strawberry powder in step 2 from blended freeze dried strawberries.
Not a comment, just a question! If I were to double the recipe for a 9×13, would you consider the baking time the same?
You can definitely do that. I would bake it for the same exact time. ๐ Let me know how it goes!
What can I use in place of freeze dried strawberries?
Unfortunately it really needs it in order to get that punch of strawberries. ๐ You can always leave it out and fold in the fresh strawberries.
These look great, I am going to make them tomorrow. I already have freeze dried strawberry powder and donโt need to blend mine. How much powder do I need if I donโt need to blend the strawberries?
Oh amazing! You’ll need 1/4 cup of powder for the brownies themselves and 2 teaspoons for the glaze ๐ Let me know how it turns out!