These scrumptious Cherry Bars bring out the best that cherries have to offer with a soft buttery crust and topping, and a simple four-ingredient powdered sugar glaze. They are the perfect combination of tart and sweet. With many simple pantry ingredients, these tasty bars come together quickly and easily.
How do you make Cherry Pie Bars?
Start by whisking together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Now in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld mixer on medium speed, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs one at a time, mixing just until incorporated. Mix in the vanilla and almond extract just until combined. Then add the dry mixture to the wet mixture mixing just until combined. Scrape down the bowl and beaters as needed. Spread all but 1 cup of the dough into a well-greased 9×13-inch pan, using an offset spatula.
Spread the cherry pie filling over the batter. Drop the remaining batter by rounded tablespoons onto the cherry pie filling. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the pan to a wire rack to fully cool for at least 1 hour up to overnight. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract, and enough milk to reach desired consistency. Drizzle over the fully cooled bars.
Tips for making Cherry Bars
- If possible, use premium cherry pie filling or, better yet, fresh if you have the fruit and the time.
- Real butter is absolutely essential for making the crust delicious.
- Use pure vanilla and almond extract. It is well worth the added expense.
- You can easily substitute blackberry, blueberry, peach, or apple pie filling. As my late mother used to say to each his own.
- Bake the bars until the edges are bubbling and the top is golden brown.
- Wait until the bars are cooled to room temperature to drizzle them with the glaze.
- Store the bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave for 20 seconds at 70-80% power to take the chill off.
- See more below about freezing cherry bars.
How to freeze cherry bars
To freeze, first fully cool. Then slice into bars and place on a parchment-covered baking sheet with space between the bars. Place on a level surface in the freezer until fully frozen. This technique is known as flash freezing. This will allow you to remove as many or as few bars as you want since they will not be frozen together. Once frozen, place in a sturdy freezer container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight
The weekend is coming. It is the perfect time to make your loved ones a special treat. These Cherry Pie Bars will leave you and yours with a smile on your face and a song in your heart.
Other cherry recipes!
Print
Cherry Pie Bars
Easy to make Cherry Pies bars with a buttery base and topping and an easy glaze. These delectable bars are the perfect flavor balance of tart and sweet. Make your family a batch today, and they will be singing your praises.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings
- Category: dessert
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 cup butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 (21-ounce) cherry pie filling Glaze
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 2–3 tablespoons milk, half n half, or water (see notes)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer on medium speed, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs one at a time, mixing just until incorporated. Mix in the vanilla and almond extract just until combined. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture mixing just until combined. Scrape down the bowl and beaters as needed.
- Spread all but 1 cup of the batter into the prepared pan using an offset spatula. Spread the cherry pie filling over the batter. Drop the remaining batter by rounded tablespoons onto the cherry pie filling.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the pan to a wire rack to fully cool for at least 1 hour up to overnight.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract, and milk. Drizzle over the fully cooled bars.
Notes
- If possible, use premium cherry pie filling or, better yet, fresh if you have the fruit and the time.
- Real butter is absolutely essential for making the crust delicious.
- Use pure vanilla and almond extract. It is well worth the added expense.
- You can easily substitute blackberry, blueberry, peach, or apple pie filling. As my late mother used to say to each his own.
- Bake the bars until the edges are bubbling and the top is golden brown.
- Wait until the bars are cooled to room temperature to drizzle them with the glaze.
- Store the bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave for 20 seconds at 70-80% power to take the chill off.
Keywords: cherry pie bar recipe, can you freeze cherry pie bars, cherry bars with cherry pie filling
On the hunt for more delicious recipes? Follow Small Town Woman on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.
https://www.smalltownwoman.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Beth-1.pdf
Tammy
These were absolutely delicious! What a wonderful treat. My mom loves cherry pie and she loved these bars!
Nisha Jha
Oh my! These cherry bars are the best. We really enjoyed them.
Flash freezing is new for me, didn’t know about it.
★★★★★
Melissa Dixon
Oh man, these look so good! I need to make this asap because I am craving some cherry goodness now!
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Melissa! I sure hope you enjoy them!
Karen
omg these bars look delicious!!! I am literally drooling! I can’t wait to make these bars, so good!
Catalina
My new favorite bars! Cherry pie flavor is my favorite!
★★★★★
Sandra
These bars are totally irresistible!! I can’t wait to make it again!
★★★★★
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Sandra! So glad that you liked them!
katerina
WOW! This is such a fabulous treat! So easy to make.
★★★★★
Krystle
Love the oats in the topping, just divine. We love this recipe
Joanne
This was just like having a slice of cherry pie, without all the work. Delicious!
If you put this recipe into a pie plate, people would think it was crumb top cherry pie. Outstanding, thank you so much
★★★★★
Beth Pierce
The pleasure is all mine Joanne! I am so glad that you liked it!
Joanne
I went gluten free several years ago and this recipe worked very well with TV flour. I used 1/4 cup cornstarch instead of the 1/4 cup flour. I am making these again today but using apple pie filling. This is the closest thing to real pie that I have had going gf. Thanks again!
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Joanne! I am glad that you were able to adapt the recipe to your needs!
Sharon Karp
Absolutely delicious. Super easy. I think next time I’ll add either some pecans or almonds to the topping.
★★★★★
Katie
Looks so good! Can’t wait to try this one with my family.
★★★★★
Valentina
These cherry dessert bars are so delicious and easy to make! They are a great dessert for any time!
★★★★★
Melissa
Wow – I made these for dessert last week and the family love them!
★★★★★
Val
Wonderful and easy recipe. Made it 1 1/2 times bigger. Thank you
★★★★★
Beth Pierce
Thanks Val! So glad that you liked it!!
Dawn Rupard
I have a big cherry tree full of beautiful cherries so I was wondering how many cups of fresh cherries would I need for this recipe & how much sugar should I put with the cherries? Is there anything else I should do with the cherries other than remove the pits & add sugar to them?
Beth Pierce
Sorry about the delay. It has been a crazy week. You really only need a little over two cups. Here is a great post on cherry pie filling however you would need to scale it down.
Krissy Allori
My oh my, these bars are absolutely delicious. I’ll make them again and again for sure.
★★★★★
Kara
I think I like these even better than homemade cherry pie! And of course I love that there’s no need to roll out a pie crust. 😉
★★★★★
Toni
This is a really nice treat! I loved it!
★★★★★
Katerina
Such an incredible dessert! My family would love these crumble bars!
★★★★★
wilhelmina
I am obsessed with these bars! I am a huge cherry fan and I loved the way the buttery crust and crumb paired with the sweet-tart cherries. Delish!
★★★★★
Jamielyn
Loved these cherry pie bars! The crumble on top was perfect and added just the right amount of crunch.
★★★★★
Katie
Cherry pie is always my favorite at thanksgiving, so these make it possible to have them all the time!
★★★★★
Natasha
Oooh I love that these are so much easier to serve than normal pie and that you get twice the topping to filling ratio! My kind of dessert
★★★★★
Carol
I made these today, but made my own filling using frozen cherries. They are SO GOOD! Thank you!
Beth Pierce
Thanks so much Carol! I am so glad that you liked them! They are totally yummy!
Maryellen Heckman
Made this for dessert today and wanted a little more buttery flavor in the crust. Maybe next time I will drizzle a little melted butter on the crumble top since mine never quite got golden. Glad I stopped to buy the premium cherry pie filling and the pure almond flavor along with the pure vanilla . That part was quite tasty.
Beth Pierce
Let us know how the butter works out! Glad that you found the cherry pie part tasty!
Vicky
This was easy to make and tasty too without being overly sweet. I only have an 8×8 pan, so I had to discard some of the the crumb mixture. I might try it next time with a cream cheese layer to make it like a cherry cheese cake .
Linda
These sound so tasty. I totally agree about the “premium” pie filling. I only use “Lucky Leaf” brand, Premium Cherry Pie Filling ( or any other flavor for that matter ) The difference is night and day between the other brands! I enjoy all your recipes … thank you so much!