Pineapple Bars
These pineapples bars feature a buttery, crispy crust on the bottom, topped with a sweet filling, perfect for a hot summer afternoon.

I find that the toughest time of year to make desserts is summer.

If it’s a particularly good recipe, I’m willing to heat up my kitchen by using my oven, but my problem is how the dessert will travel with the heat. And if the event I’m taking my dessert to happens to be outdoors, I struggle with finding something that will stay stable in 90-degree weather.

That rules out anything cold.

Or anything that melts.

But with an invitation to a July 4 outdoor gathering, I decided it was time to get busy and find something that looked delicious.

And that’s how I landed on something that, yes, did heat up my kitchen but was absolutely worth it for the pay off of a great summertime treat.

This recipe comes from the blog “Averie Cooks,” authored by Averie Sunshine. You can find her original post at https://www.averiecooks.com/tropical-escape-soft-pineapple-crumble-bars. I added extra vanilla to my version.

Pineapple Bars
Print Recipe

Pineapple Bars

These pineapples bars feature a buttery, crispy crust on the bottom, topped with a sweet filling, perfect for a hot summer afternoon.
Course: Dessert
Keyword: bars, butter, non-fat Greek yogurt, pineapple, pineapple chunks, summer dessert, tropical dessert, vanilla

Ingredients

Crust Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling Ingredients

  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 5.3 ounce cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 20 ounces pineapple chunks in juice drained, but save the juice and use it for something fun

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Prepare an eight-by-eight-inch pan by lining it with foil and then spraying it lightly with cooking spray.
  • For the crust, add all of the ingredients to a mixing bowl, and cut it together with a pastry cutter or a couple of forks until everything is well combined and is a bit crumbly.
  • Set aside 3/4 cup of the crust mixture, and press the rest evenly into the bottom of your prepared pan. Bake it for 10 minutes.
  • While the crust bakes, add the egg, sugar, yogurt, vanilla and flour to the same mixing bowl, and beat until it is smooth and creamy. Set it aside.
  • When the crust is done, pull it out of the oven and carefully line the entire bottom with pineapple chunks. Leave just a smidgeon of room between each chunk for the filling to get into.
  • Pour the filling evenly over the top of the pineapple, and then evenly sprinkle the reserved crust mixture over the top.
  • Bake for another 35 minutes or until the edges are set and the top is just starting to brown.
  • Let the bars cool before slicing them and serving them. Store the bars in an airtight container.

These were fabulous.

Actually, I shouldn’t say “these,” since I only actually got to eat one of them myself. The rest were reduced to crumbs in my container before the night was over.

That’s not a complaint. I would rather spread the calories out over many friends than have them all end up with me.

Regardless, the crust on the bottom was buttery and crisp, and the pineapples were sweet and perfect for a summer afternoon.

And these bars did great out in the heat. The only thing I didn’t plan for? A sudden deluge of rain just after we put everything on the dessert table. It was a good thing I had a lid at the ready.

I guess you can’t prepare for everything when it comes to dessert and a Kansas summer.

This piece first appeared in print July 10, 2025.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.