That includes a sweet-tart cherry pie filling and a buttery, crumbly brown sugar streusel, there’s a lot to like about these crumb-topped cherry pie bars. You’ll use frozen bitter cherries within the filling, which comes collectively rapidly on the range. The crust and crumble topping are created from the identical 1-bowl combination. (There’s no messing with pie crust at the moment!) A drizzle of almond icing is the right flavor-enhancing final touch.
At this time we’re giving our normal spherical pie dish a relaxation and making pie bars. Whereas I typically don’t thoughts placing within the effort and time to make a pie from scratch (it’s a labor of affection!), pie bar recipes are positively faster and simpler. And typically—OK, oftentimes—that’s very interesting!
It’s why I’ve created bar variations of a few of the hottest pies on my web site, resembling pumpkin pie bars, salted caramel apple pie bars, and blueberry pie bars.
When you love cherry pie, however making pie crust from scratch intimidates you, this crumb-topped cherry pie bar recipe is the reply. You’ll nonetheless take pleasure in a jammy cherry filling, however with the welcome ease of constructing a single “dough” that turns into each crust and topping—no finicky pie crust chilling, rolling, or shaping.
Why You’ll Love Cherry Pie Bars
- Simpler than pie—crust & topping created from the identical 1-bowl combination
- Juicy, jammy cherry pie filling, created from scratch
- Made with frozen bitter cherries, out there 12 months spherical!
- Faster than many fruit fillings—no pitting, peeling, or chopping the fruit
- One other egg-free baking recipe
- Candy almond-flavored icing
- Simple to move, slice, serve, and freeze!
Whereas my basic cherry pie recipe makes use of contemporary candy cherries, these cherry pie bars use frozen bitter cherries, so that you don’t must restrict this recipe to when cherries are in season. However, if in case you have contemporary, you may completely use them right here!
Right here’s all the pieces you want:
Crust & Topping Made From Identical Combination
This step actually couldn’t be simpler. You want 1 bowl and a spatula (no mixer required!), and also you’ll use this dough for each the crust and the topping.
- All-Objective Flour: Flour is the bottom of the crust/crumble.
- Oats: Be happy to make use of both entire rolled oats or fast oats right here. Reserve 2 Tablespoons of oats so as to add to the crumble topping earlier than sprinkling it on high of the cherry pie filling.
- Brown Sugar: I like utilizing brown sugar in a dough/crumble like this, due to the moisture and taste it supplies.
- Baking Powder: Baking powder retains the crust/crumble on the lighter facet. With out it, the feel could be a bit of too onerous and dense.
- Lemon Zest & Salt: Small quantities however positively essential for flavorful bars. The lemon zest brightens up the zingy bitter cherry taste much more, and salt enhances all the pieces.
- Melted Butter: Utilizing melted butter makes this a stir-by-hand combination (identical to these chewy chocolate chip cookies!). It binds the components collectively and supplies taste.
Stir all of it collectively, then reserve about 1/3 of the crumble combination to make use of because the topping. Press the remainder right into a lined 9-inch-square baking pan. I prefer to line pans with parchment paper so I can simply elevate the entire thing out of the pan, and minimize it into squares on a chopping board. I like to recommend the identical for white chocolate raspberry cheesecake bars and M&M cookie bars, too.
Bake the crust for 10 minutes earlier than you high it with the filling.
Tart Bitter Cherries vs. Darkish Candy Cherries
Like with apples, forms of cherries vary in taste, texture, and dimension. Some varieties are generally known as “candy, snacking cherries,” and others are generally known as “bitter” or “tart” cherries. Whereas the sweeter, firmer varieties are perfect for consuming all by themselves, the smaller bitter/tart varieties are glorious for baking.
If the phrase “bitter” places you off, take into consideration all of the scrumptious bitter flavors we take pleasure in in baked items, like cranberries, lemon, and rhubarb. Somewhat added sugar balances the bitter with candy, and the result’s mouth-watering, not mouth-puckering.
Bitter cherries are decrease in sugar than candy cherries however increased in acidity, which supplies them a vivid taste, and cooking them concentrates the sugars so that they style sweeter.
When you had been to purchase canned cherry pie filling, that’s made with bitter cherries! So the bitter cherry filling going into these pie bars tastes like THE quintessential cherry pie filling. Suppose: the storybook hometown diner cherry pie of your desires. 🙂
Cook dinner the Bitter Cherry Pie Filling on the Range
Let me stroll you thru this so that you perceive the cooking step earlier than you begin. You want 3 and 1/2 cups (about 525g) of contemporary or frozen bitter cherries. No have to thaw. Mix them in a saucepan with sugar and lemon juice. Cook dinner till the cherries start to launch their juices, then pour a few of that heat cherry liquid right into a small bowl of cornstarch. Use a fork to dissolve the cornstarch:
Why are we doing this? Like with this blueberry sauce and strawberry dessert sauce, it is advisable make a cornstarch slurry combination, as a result of including powdery cornstarch to the fruit leaves you with chalky chunks of undissolved cornstarch. And, right here, you don’t wish to add extra liquid to the cherry filling, in order that’s why we’re actually utilizing liquid from the cooking cherries.
Good and thick just like the canned stuff, however utterly home made:
Unfold the nice and cozy filling over the pre-baked crust. Stir a further 2 Tablespoons of oats into the remaining crumble combination, to provide it a bit of further quantity, then sprinkle it over the filling earlier than baking.
No, I don’t advocate canned cherries on this recipe. Canned cherries sometimes produce other components added. And if you will discover a can/jar that’s simply pure cherries in liquid, they’re already fairly comfortable and can prepare dinner into mush. I don’t advocate them right here.
Sure, you should utilize contemporary pitted cherries as an alternative of frozen. The cooking and baking directions stay the identical.
Sure, we examined this and it really works splendidly with 2 adjustments. Cut back the sugar within the filling to 1/3 cup (67g) and add one other 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Nonetheless, if I had to decide on, I might use bitter cherries right here.
Cool baked crumb-topped cherry pie bars utterly, identical to you’ll let a cherry pie cool utterly. When you minimize the bars into squares whereas they’re nonetheless heat, they’ll crumble.
Elective Icing
When you’d prefer to high with icing, whisk collectively the almond icing components within the recipe card beneath, or you can make this vanilla icing as an alternative. Each is created from solely 3 components and comes collectively in a flash. PIE BAR PERFECTION, and completely from scratch.
Cherry Pie Bars (From Scratch)
Prep Time: half-hour
Cook dinner Time: 1 hour (contains filling)
Whole Time: 4 hours, half-hour (contains cooling)
Yield: 16 bars
Class: Bars
Technique: Baking
Delicacies: American
Description
That is cherry pie with out the trouble of constructing a home made pie crust! You’ll use frozen (or contemporary) bitter cherries within the filling, which comes collectively rapidly on the range. The crust and crumble topping are created from the identical 1-bowl combination. A drizzle of almond icing is the right flavor-enhancing final touch. Cool utterly earlier than icing and chopping.
Crust + Topping
Cherry Filling
Almond Icing (Elective)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 9-inch sq. baking pan (I like this one and this one) with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the edges to simply elevate the bars out of the pan. Put aside.
- Make the crust: Whisk the flour, 1 cup (85g) oats, brown sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt collectively in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter and vanilla, and stir till the combination resembles moist crumbly sand and no dry spots stay. You’ll have a bit of greater than 3 cups of crust combination, or about 520g. Press 2/3 of the combination (about 2 cups/345g—doesn’t must be actual) into the ready baking pan. Press it into the pan (along with your fingers, a big spoon or spatula, or the underside of a measuring cup) to type a crust. Bake for 10 minutes, after which take away from the oven to barely cool.
- Make the filling: Place the cornstarch in a small bowl and put aside, inside attain of the range. In a medium saucepan set over medium warmth, mix the cherries, sugar, and lemon juice. Cook dinner, stirring sometimes, till the cherries start to launch their juices—about 4 to six minutes. Whereas the cherries proceed to prepare dinner, rigorously take away a few spoonfuls of the juice from the saucepan and add to the bowl of cornstarch. Utilizing a fork, combine the cornstarch and cherry juice collectively till the cornstarch is dissolved. Stir this combination into the filling, then convey to a boil and prepare dinner, stirring sometimes, till the filling has thickened, about 10 minutes. Take away from warmth and stir within the almond extract.
- Pour/unfold the filling over the nice and cozy crust. Stir 2 Tablespoons oats into the remaining crumble combination, then sprinkle it everywhere in the filling, and flippantly press it down with the again of a giant spoon or flat spatula.
- Bake for about 40–50 minutes or till the highest is flippantly browned and a toothpick comes out *largely* clear (with a number of jammy cherry specks!). Mine take about 45 minutes.
- Take away from the oven and permit the bars to chill utterly within the pan set on a wire rack. After about 1 hour, you may place the entire pan within the fridge to assist pace issues up.
- Make the non-compulsory icing: Whisk the icing components collectively. Add extra milk to skinny out, if desired. Drizzle over cooled bars.
- Raise the bars out of the pan utilizing the sides of the parchment paper lining and place the entire thing on a chopping board. Slice squares with a pointy knife and, for neat squares, wipe the knife clear between every minimize.
- Cowl and retailer leftover cherry pie bars (with or with out icing) at room temperature for as much as 2 days or within the fridge for as much as 1 week.
Notes
- Make Forward & Freezing Directions: You’ll be able to refrigerate the cooled bars earlier than chopping into squares, see step 6. Baked and cooled bars freeze nicely as much as 3 months. Thaw in a single day within the fridge and produce to room temperature, if desired, earlier than serving.
- Particular Instruments (affiliate hyperlinks): 9-Inch Sq. Baking Pan or this 9-Inch Sq. Baking Pan | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Citrus Zester | Citrus Juicer | Cooling Rack
- Can I take advantage of canned/jarred cherries? No, I don’t advocate canned cherries on this recipe. Canned cherries sometimes produce other components added. And if you will discover a can/jar that’s simply pure cherries in liquid, they’re already fairly comfortable and can prepare dinner into mush. I don’t advocate them right here.
- Can I take advantage of darkish candy cherries as an alternative of bitter? Sure, we examined this and it really works splendidly with 2 adjustments: Cut back the sugar within the filling to 1/3 cup (67g) and add one other 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Nonetheless, if I had to decide on, I might use bitter cherries right here.
- Can I bake this in a 9×13-inch pan? You’ll be able to, however I’ve had higher outcomes baking a smaller batch, as written, within the 9-inch sq. pan. If you wish to make a bigger batch, double every ingredient and bake in a 9×13-inch pan. Improve crust pre-bake time to 18 minutes. Improve the bake time after including the filling & crumble topping to 1 hour, or till filling is effervescent.
Key phrases: cherry pie bars
