ADVERTISEMENT
My mother-in-law demands I bring these 3 ingredient treats to every family gathering. The pan is always scraped completely clean before dinner is even over.
1 (15.25–16.5 oz) box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup (1 stick, 8 Tbsp) unsalted or salted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 (20–21 oz) can strawberry pie filling
Nonstick cooking spray or a little extra butter for greasing the pan (optional but helpful)
Directions
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease a 9×13-inch ceramic baking dish with nonstick spray or a bit of butter. This helps the bars release easily and keeps the edges from sticking.
In a medium mixing bowl, pour in the dry yellow cake mix. Add the melted, slightly cooled butter. Stir with a fork or spoon until the mixture looks crumbly and evenly moistened. It should resemble damp sand with some small clumps—this will become both your crust and your topping.
Set aside about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of the crumb mixture for the topping. Press the remaining crumb mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking dish to form a crust. Use your fingertips or the bottom of a measuring cup to press it down so it holds together.
Open the can of strawberry pie filling and spoon it over the crust, spreading it gently with the back of the spoon so the filling reaches all the way to the corners. Try to keep the crust underneath in place as you spread.
Sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture evenly over the strawberry filling, letting some of the berries peek through. This will bake into a golden, buttery crumble with the jammy filling bubbling up around it.
Place the baking dish on the middle rack of the preheated oven. Bake for 28–35 minutes, or until the top is lightly golden and you can see the strawberry filling bubbling up around the edges and in a few spots on top.
Remove the pan from the oven and set it on a heat-safe surface or cooling rack. The filling will be very hot and a bit loose at first. Allow the bars to cool at least 30–45 minutes so the filling can thicken and the bars can set. For the cleanest slices, let them cool completely to room temperature.
Once cooled, cut into 12–16 squares or rectangles, depending on how big you like them. Serve directly from the ceramic baking dish on your countertop, just the way they came out of the oven—the rustic look with the thick, jammy filling bubbling through the golden crumble is part of their charm.
