Cherry Bars
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!
Servings: 24 Servings
Cost: $14
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 9x13” 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
Ingredient Notes/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.
Nutrition
Serving: 1bar | Calories: 252kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 116mg | Potassium: 111mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 282IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 1mg