These Cherry Pie Crumble Bars have a thick filling made of fresh cherries and a buttery shortbread crust that doubles as the crumble topping! Meet your new summer obsession.
Ok, I know I ALWAYS have a new favorite dessert – and right now, it’s these beauties. CHERRY PIE CRUMBLE BARS. I mean, what’s not to love? They have two layers of crust – one of which happens to be a pile of buttery crumble, and a thick layer of fresh, juicy, sweet cherries! So many cherry dessert recipes out there use cherry pie filling (nothing wrong with that) but I wanted to incorporate fresh cherries here. It is cherry season after all – and I’ll be taking advantage of it for as long as I can.
I recommend you do the same!
How to Make Cherry Pie Crumble Bars:
This is a super simple recipe – and actually it doesn’t use pie crust at all! So, never fear – you can whip these up in a pinch. First, slice your cherries and stir in some sugar and almond extract for flavor! Let this rest while we make the bars.
First stir together melted butter, brown sugar, oats and flour to make the dough that will be the base and topping for the bars.
Reserve some of the topping for later, we’re going to press the remaining mixture into the bottom of a lined pan, and bake it about 10 minutes. Next, we’re adding the cherries and the rest of the crumble topping.
Finish baking, let them cool, and you’re on your way to dessert bar Heaven.
These tend to get a tad soft when left at room temp (our apartment is also ridiculously warm in the summer) so I recommend keeping them chilled in the fridge so you can eat them with less crumble-spillage.
Just look at that sweet cherry and buttery crumble goodness. It’s calling your name! This is the PRIME time to make these bars – cherries have been on sale at all the grocery stores near me lately (under $2/pound). So, get baking while the cherries last!
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Cherry Pie Crumble Bars
Ingredients
For the Cherry Filling:
- 2 and 1/2 cups fresh sweet cherries
- 1 TBSP sugar
- 1 tsp corn or tapioca starch
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
For the Bars:
- 1 and 1/2 cups + 2 TBSP all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup + 2 TBSP whole wheat flour can sub all purpose flour
- 1 and 1/4 cup rolled oats
- 1 and 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 15 TBSP salted butter
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper and set aside. Rinse and pit your cherries, and slice in half.
- Make the filling: Stir together the filling ingredients in a medium bowl, and set aside while you make the crumble mixture.
- Make the bars: Mix together the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add the melted butter, and stir until you have a crumbly mixture. Reserve 1 and 2/3 cup of the mixture for the top of the bars. Press the rest of the mixture into the bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 12 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes. Evenly spread the cherries over the crust. Sprinkle the reserved crumble mixture over the top of the peach butter. Return to the oven and bake for 24-27 minutes - the topping will look cooked and lightly browned.
- Serve + Store: Let cool completely before cutting into bars, if you want nice neat squares. If not, dig in sooner - it will be a little like a fruit crumble! Store bars in the fridge, in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
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Rima says
Very, very, good. I left off on star because I was looking for a recipe that added milk chocolate chips. Other than that, these are perfect.