Cherry Bars
Posted May 17, 2024
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These Cherry Bars are easy to make from scratch with no cans or box mixes. In this cherry bars recipe, a from-scratch cherry filling is sandwiched between a homemade buttery crust and topped with a delicious glaze for a festive, crowd-pleasing dessert!
If cherry pie and a sugar cookie got together – their love child would be these delicious cherry bars.
I created this irresistible cherry bars recipe made completely from scratch – no boxed mixes or pie filling in a can. Because I truly believe homemade is always best!
In this recipe, a buttery crust that is a cross between a sugar cookie and pie crust is stuffed with a homemade cherry filling and baked to bubbly perfection. Then, the bars are cooled and drizzled with a delicious homemade glaze.
This recipe is festive for holidays like Christmas, 4th of July, Valentine’s day, etc. Plus you can use frozen cherries when they’re not in season.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Salted butter. Unsalted butter is a good substitute.
- Granulated sugar. Organic cane sugar works well in place of white sugar.
- Almond extract is a key ingredient to the flavor of this recipe – however, you can simply increase the vanilla extract buy ¼ tsp if necessary.
- All-purpose flour. gluten-free baking flour should work well as a substitute.
- Cherries. Fresh or frozen cherries both work well in this recipe. If using frozen, be sure thaw them in a colander in the sink or over a bowl to remove excess liquid before using them in this recipe.
- Cornstarch. tapioca starch works too.
- Whole milk. heavy cream or half and half are good substitutes for whole milk in the glaze.
How to Make Cherry Bars
Let’s walk through this cherry pie bars recipe step-by-step, and don’t forget to watch the video.
Make the cherry filling
Begin by making the cherry filling. Cook the cherries, sugar lemon juice, cinnamon and sea salt in a 5-quart saucepan over medium heat, until the cherries are soft and begin to release their juice and the sugar is dissolved (about 5 minutes).
In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water,
Then, pour the cornstarch mixture into the cherries and cook until the mixture begins to thicken, stirring often (about 2-3 minutes).
Once thick, remove from heat and stir in vanilla, then set it aside to cool.
Make the Crust/Crumble
While the filling is cooling slightly, make the crust/crumble layer.
Begin by beating the butter and sugar together for 1 minute either in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a handheld mixer.
Then, add the vanilla and eggs and beat until light and fluffy.
Next, mix in the flour and sea salt and beat until large “crumbs” form. Dough should be soft but not wet.
Assemble the Cherry Bars
To assemble the cherry bars, begin by pressing ⅔ of the crust mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
Then, spread the cooled cherry filling over the bottom crust in an even layer.
Next, form small “crumbs” of the remaining crust mixture with your hands and place them on top of the cherry filling gently.
Bake the cherry bars in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until the top is lightly golden brown and the filling is bubbling.
Then, remove the cherry pie bars from the oven and let them cool completely.
Make the glaze
Once the bars are cooled, make the glaze by whisking the ingredients together until the mixture is smooth.
Then, drizzle the glaze over the cooled bars, then let it set at room temperature until hardened. Or you can put them in the refrigerator to speed up the process.
Once the glaze is hardened, slice the cherry bars into squares and serve.
Serve
Serve these cherry bars at room temperature or slightly chilled.
Store/Freeze
Store leftover bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or for an hour at room temperature before eating frozen bars.
Cherry Bars Recipe FAQS
Yes, if desired you can use canned cherry pie filling, although I suggest following the recipe for the best results.
Yes, you can cut the recipe in half and bake them in a 9×9″ baking dish.
Try making cherry pie, cherry muffins, or cherry smoothie!
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Cherry Bars
Ingredients
Crust/Crumb
- 1 cup salted butter softened
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar 348 g
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 3 cups all-purpose flour 433 g
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Filling
- 2 pounds sweet cherries pitted
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch sea salt
- 2 Tablespoons corn starch
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Glaze
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line a 9×13” baking pan with parchment paper, set aside.
Make the cherry filling
- Cook cherries, sugar lemon juice, cinnamon and sea salt in a 5-quart saucepan over medium heat, until the cherries are soft and begin to release their juice and the sugar is dissolved (about 5 minutes).
- In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water, then pour the mixture into the cherries.
- Cook until the mixture begins to thicken, stirring often (about 2-3 minutes)
- Once thick, remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
- Set aside to cool.
Make the Crust/Crumble
- In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a handheld mixer, beat butter and sugar together for 1 minute.
- Add vanilla and eggs and beat until light and fluffy.
- Add flour and sea salt and beat until large “crumbs” form. Dough should be soft but not wet.
- Press 2/3 of the crust mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
- Spread the cooled cherry filling over the bottom crust in an even layer.
- Form small “crumbs” with your hands and place them on top of the cherry filling gently.
- Bake in preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until the top is lightly golden brown and the filling is bubbling.
- Remove from oven and let cool completely.
Make the glaze
- Whisk together powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth.
- Pour over the cooled bars, then let it set at room temperature until hardened.
- Slice and serve.
Video
Notes
- Salted butter. Unsalted butter is a good substitute.
- Granulated sugar. Organic cane sugar works well in place of white sugar.
- Almond extract is a key ingredient to the flavor of this recipe – however, you can simply increase the vanilla extract buy ¼ tsp if necessary.
- All-purpose flour. gluten-free baking flour should work well as a substitute.
- Cherries. Fresh or frozen cherries both work well in this recipe. If using frozen, be sure thaw them in a colander in the sink or over a bowl to remove excess liquid before using them in this recipe.
- Cornstarch. tapioca starch works too.
- Whole milk. heavy cream or half and half are good substitutes for whole milk in the glaze.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’ve made this twice with great results. The first time I made it, I used frozen dark sweet cherries which were thawed and drained. My family loved it! Today I made it using fresh blueberries and strawberries (red, white, and blue for the 4th of July) 😊 The crust is so tasty…like almond cookies. An excellent, easy recipe!
I’m so glad you love this recipe, Lu!
New visitor to your site. This looks wonderful! Can’t wait to try it.
Question – My MIL just gave us fresh apricots from the farmers mkt. Very thoughtful but we’re not really fans and I know we won’t eat them raw. However, would they work in this recipe? I’d like to tell her we enjoyed them. : )
I think you could use apricots!