Sweet & Tart Cherry Pie Crumble Bars Recipe Is a Crowd-Pleaser by Jan Mostrom

I really love going to the farmers market now that it’s open in my sweet midwestern town. The fresh fruits and vegetables, available right from the fields, makes me so grateful I have access to such a beautiful array of food. This lovely cherry crumble bar recipe made great use of the beautiful summer cherries I found!

This easy recipe uses those ruby wonders to bake into these yummy, and quite easy to make, cherry pie bars. I took them to a dinner party and they were a crowd-pleaser. Even my husband, who isn’t a huge fan of cherry desserts, has repeated how much he is enjoying them as we were the lucky recipients of the leftovers!

To make these sweet cherry bars you will need pitted fresh or frozen cherries, fresh lemon juice, pure maple syrup, flour (all-purpose or gluten-free), sea salt, unsalted butter, rolled oats and vanilla extract. If you want to top the bars with a sweet glaze, also grab some powdered sugar. While the bars bake, read about the health benefits of cherries.

Pro Tips: You can easily wash the cherries by placing them in a colander and running them under cold water. Be sure to remove the pits from the cherries before using.

Serve this sweet and tart cherry dessert warm or at room temperature with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Thank you, summer!

Cuisine: American / Southern
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 9

Ingredients

Filling

• 16 ounces pitted cherries, fresh or frozen
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons flour (gluten-free flour or all-purpose flour)
• pinch of sea salt

Crumble Crust and Topping

• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted
• 1 1/3 cups flour (gluten-free flour or all-purpose flour)
• 1 cup oats (regular or quick cooking)
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Glaze

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon water or lemon juice

Here's how to make it: 

1. Line a square baking pan with parchment paper that comes up over the sides. In a medium mixing bowl add the crust/topping ingredients and mix well. (To make these bars gluten-free, use gluten-free flour. To make them vegan, use coconut oil instead of butter.)
   
2. Divide the mixture in half and place half in the parchment paper-lined pan. Set the remaining mixture to the side.
   
3. Press the mixture into the parchment with clean hands to cover the bottom of the pan. Use a fork to poke into it several times so that it will bake evenly. Bake the crust in a preheated 350-degree F oven for about 15 minutes until it is golden brown.
   
4. While the crust cooks make the cherry pie filling by placing all the ingredients into a saucepan.
   
5. Cook on medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring often, and pressing the cherries with a spatula as they become soft. Mash them to your liking (I left mine fairly chunky). Remove from heat when done.
   
6. When the crust is finished, remove from the oven and top it with the cherry filling.
   
7. Spoon the remaining topping onto the top of the pie filling, allowing the cherry mixture to show through.
   
8. Bake for 23 to 30 minutes or until the mixture is brown and bubbling at the sides.
   
9. Remove and cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Pick the parchment up and place on a cutting board to slice. If you would like the added sweetness of the glaze, stir together the powdered sugar and lemon juice or water. Drizzle over the top and enjoy! Store the cherry pie bars in an airtight container to keep them fresh.
   

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