Strawberries, for me, are one of the quintessential summer fruits.  They are glorious in so many forms.  But my favorite form is baked into something — whether it be a pie, a cake, muffins — or in this case, bars.

I saw this recipe posted on one of my favorite baking blogs, Cookies And Cups — authored by an adorable woman named Shelly, and my brain immediately went, “Must.  Bake.  Now.”

It is like a delicious fusion of strawberry shortcake and cheesecake — the creamy filling really sells it for me.  One of my other favorite recipes (Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars) was recently posted on this same site, and I’m thinking of fusing these two together somehow.  They’re both completely delicious on their own though.

So, while summer’s still lingering (it’s a pretty perfect 84 and sunny here today), let’s take some strawberries and bake them up into something delicious.  It’ll get you through the week.  I promise.

Strawberry And Cream Bars

Recipe via Cookies And Cups

You will need:

1 box vanilla cake mix

1/3 c. butter, softened

2 eggs, divided

1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/3 c. sugar

1 t. vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Line a 9×13″ baking dish with foil and spray with cooking spray.

3. In large bowl combine butter, one egg and cake mix.

4. Reserve 1 cup of mixture for topping and set aside.

5. Press the remaining mixture in the bottom of the pan and bake for 10 minutes.

6. While crust is baking, hull and slice strawberries.

7. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and remaining egg until smooth.

8. Spread cream cheese mixture over top the partially baked crust.

9. Evenly arrange the sliced strawberries over the cream cheese mixture and the sprinkle with remaining crust.

10. Bake for 25-30 minutes until center is set and crumbs on top turn golden brown.

11. Cool completely, then chill at least 30 minutes before serving.  Slice into bars.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.