Cherry pie bars are my new favorite dessert obsession!
I mean, what’s not to love about a thick, buttery crust topped with the most luscious cherry filling you’ve ever tasted.
As a bonus, they come together so easily with just a few simple ingredients. The hardest step is waiting for them to cool before devouring them!
I topped mine with a sweet almond glaze for the perfect finishing touch.
I can’t wait for you to sink your teeth into these ooey-gooey bars of deliciousness.
Why You’ll Love These Cherry Pie Bars
Crowd-Pleaser: These portable bars are always hit at parties and potlucks.
Nostalgic Treat: Savor the comforting, old-fashioned flavors of cherry pie in a convenient, handheld bar.
Easy to Make: There’s no fussy pie crust or lattice top required. These bars come together with just a few simple steps.
Freezer-Friendly: They freeze beautifully for a future dessert craving or last-minute contribution.
Ingredients
- Cherry Pie Filling: It’s packed with juicy fruit for the ultimate cherry flavor bomb.
- Unsalted Butter: Creamy, rich butter lets the cherry shine as the star ingredient.
- Granulated Sugar: To balance the tart cherries and create a tender crumb.
- Salt: It enhances flavors and cuts through the sweetness.
- Large Eggs: They help bind the buttery dough together.
- Vanilla Extract: Just a little adds so much flavor.
- Almond Extract: It brings a nutty aroma and makes the cherry flavor pop.
- All-Purpose Flour: To give the bars their sturdy, yet tender texture.
- Powdered Sugar: It dissolves for a silky, sweet glaze.
- Milk: To the glaze to a perfect, drippy consistency.
How to Make Cherry Pie Bars
The recipe given is for soft, almost cake-like pie bars. The base and topping are quite soft but hold the filling beautifully.
If you want something more cookie-like, I’ve given instructions in the Tips section below.
Here’s how to make them:
1. Prep the pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 15x10x1 inch jelly roll pan or two 9×9 inch baking pans.
2. Make the dough. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and salt until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts. Gradually add the flour and mix until just combined.
3. Assemble the bars. Spread about 2/3 of the dough evenly into the prepared pan. Spread the cherry pie filling evenly over the dough. Drop the remaining dough by teaspoonfuls over the top of the filling.
4. Bake the bars. Bake for 30-35 minutes until lightly golden brown on top. Cool completely on a wire rack.
5. Make the glaze. For the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar, extracts, and enough milk to reach the desired consistency.
6. Glaze the bars. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled bars.
7. Serve the bars. Cut into squares and serve.
Tips for the Best Cherry Pie Bars
Follow these tips for the very best treats.
- Room temperature is key. Use room-temperature butter and eggs for the best results.
- Don’t overmix! Mix the crust and crumble dough just until combined to avoid a tough texture.
- Try a stick-free trick. Line the baking pan with parchment paper. Leave an overhang on the sides for easy removal and slicing of the bars.
- Take a shortcut. Use frozen cherries for the filling. Thaw and drain them first to remove excess liquid.
- Bake the crust. If you want a sturdier, more crispy crust, bake it without the toppings for 15-20 minutes. Then add the pie filling and topping and bake again just until the topping is golden.
- Leave them alone. Allow the baked bars to cool completely, at least 1 hour, before slicing for clean cuts and set filling. Refrigerate to speed up cooling.
- Select a serrated knife. Slice the bars with a serrated knife, wiping the blade clean between cuts, for tidy squares.
- Try fun variations. Try different pie fillings like apple, blueberry or peach. Use lemon extract instead of almond for a different flavor profile. Or add chopped nuts or oats to the crumble topping for texture.
- Shortbread crust. Beat 1 cup butter with 1 cup sugar. Add 3 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon each baking powder and baking soda. Mix until crumbly, then press all but 3/4 cup into the baking pan. Add the filling then sprinkle the remaining crumb over the top. Bake until golden.
How to Store
Here’s how to keep your bars fresh so they’re ready for any party!
To Store: Keep the bars in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Allow them to come to room temperature before serving for the best texture and flavor.
To Freeze: Wrap the bars tightly in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer-safe container or bag for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.
More Tasty Pie Bars We Adore
Key Lime Pie Bars
Apple Pie Bars
Pecan Pie Bars
Strawberry Slab Pie
Cherry Pie Bars
12
servings10
minutes35
minutes522
kcalThese homemade cherry pie bars are such a delightful treat! The combo of the buttery crust and cherry filling is sweet, decadent, and irresistible.
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 (21 oz) cans cherry pie filling
- Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond
2-3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 15x10x1-inch jelly roll pan (or two 9×9-inch baking pans).
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and salt until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts.
- Gradually add the flour and mix until just combined. Spread about 2/3 of the dough evenly into the prepared pan.
- Spread the cherry pie filling evenly over the dough. Drop the remaining dough by teaspoonfuls over the top of the filling.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until lightly golden brown on top. Cool completely on a wire rack.
- For the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla and almond extract, and enough milk to reach the desired consistency. Drizzle over the cooled bars.
- Cut into squares and serve. Store covered at room temperature for 3-4 days or in the fridge for up to a week.
Notes
- Use room-temperature butter and eggs for best results.
- Don’t overmix the dough or it will become tough. Mix just until combined.
- Feel free to use your favorite pie filling: blueberry, apple, peach, etc. all work well.
- For a fancy drizzle, put the glaze in a Ziploc bag, snip off the corner, and pipe it over the bars.
Thank you for all these wonderful recipes!
Hi Dianne,
I was excited to make these for a group cook-out but mine turned out much more cake like. They were compared to Danish. How can I make them more cookie crust like?
Irene
This is baking in the oven as I type! Made it for a dinner party dessert I am hosting this evening!
I have a bag of dried tart cherries. How could I use these instead of the canned cherry pie filled?
Hi Fonda!
You can absolutely use dried cherries, but you’ll need to rehydrate them into a filling.
Here’s how I’d do it:
Homemade Cherry Filling
3-4 cups dried tart cherries
4 cups water (or enough to cover the cherries)
1 cup granulated sugar (adjust to taste)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1. Place the dried tart cherries in a bowl and cover them with water.
2. Let them soak for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until they are plump and rehydrated.
3. Drain the cherries, but reserve the soaking liquid.
4. In a large saucepan, combine the rehydrated cherries, 2 cups of the reserved soaking liquid, and 1 cup granulated sugar.
5. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 10 minutes, until the cherries are soft and the mixture is slightly thickened.
6. In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons cornstarch with a few tablespoons of the reserved soaking liquid to create a slurry.
7. Slowly add the cornstarch slurry to the simmering cherry mixture, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Continue to cook for a few more minutes until the filling is thick and glossy.
8. Remove from heat and stir in 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. Let the filling cool to room temperature then make the bars as instructed.
Thank you so much!
Would gluten free flour work in this recipe?
Hi Terry!
I’ve never tried it but I don’t see why not.
You’ll want to use an equal amount of gluten free all-purpose flour, such as Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Mix.
Whatever brand you go with, make sure it contains xanthan gum (or add 1 teaspoon)
Hope they turn out well!
I have a convection oven. at what temp and how many minutes do I bake this recipe. thank you
Hi Joanne!
I suggest an oven temp of 325°F temp and checking the bake after 20 minutes.
Then in 5 minute intervals until it’s golden brown 🙂
How can I receive emails from your site?
.
Hi, Judy! Near the top of the page under the first big image, you’ll see a place to enter your email. Entering your email there should set you up to receive emails from the site. 😉
I’m going to 4th of July gathering at our clubhouse with a lot of people. How is the best way to double or make more? Sounds so easy & good. Thank you.
Hi Charlene!
You’re best option is to double the recipe and bake it in 2 separate pans.
I like 9×13 baking pans since I prefer the base a little thicker. But the larger pan will give you nice portions too.
Another option would be to make muffins. I think you’ll get around 48 out of a doubled batch.
Fill muffin liners about 1/3-1/2 full with the base, press it down, and bake for 10-12 minutes. Then add the cherry filling and crumb topping and bake again for 15-20 minutes.
How do you make the crumb topping?
Hi Dave!
The “crumb” topping is the same as the base. You just make one dough and divide it.
Press about 2/3 into the baking dish, then sprinkle the remaining bits over the top.
I usually rub it between my fingers to break it up a little. But you can also pop it in the fridge until firm, then grate it. That will give you a more even covering 🙂
Can this recipe be halved? Just my husband and I most of the time and I doubt it can freeze well.
Hi Arlinda!
Yes, you can half the recipe and use an 8×8-inch baking dish.
Check on them after 20 minutes 🙂
Why an 8 x 8 pan if you’re halving the recipe, especially when you originally said you can use (2) 9 x 9 pans if you don’t have the 15x10x1 jelly roll pan? 🤔
Hi Janis!
You’re right! You can absolutely use a 9×9 pan.
I suggested an 8×8 pan because I find it’s what most people have on hand.
Both will work with similar bake times. The 8×8 will just be very slightly thicker 🙂
Can I use fresh cherries?
Hi Lisa!
Yes, you can use fresh cherries to make cherry pie filling.
Here’s a recipe I use:
5 cups fresh cherries, pitted
1/2 cup water
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
Depending on how sweet/sour the cherries are, you might need to adjust the sugar.
Combine everything into a pot, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cook and stir until thick.
Let it cool before using in the pie recipe 🙂
Is this only one layer of cherries in the pic it looked like more than one layer
Hi Devona!
It’s just one layer but the top layer of crust is kind of dotted over, so you can still see the filling on top 🙂
Can you use salted butter?
Absolutely, Barbara. In fact, most of my baking recipes DO include salted butter (even when it calls for unsalted) because salted is all I typically buy. You may want to leave out the extra dash of salt called for in the recipe, though. 🙂
I made this recipe and it was good but looked nothing like the pic. it looks like a crunchy bar. mine came out more like a cobbler.
Hi Brenda!
This is supposed to be quite soft and cobbler-like.
If you want it crispier, you can pre-bake the crust for 10 minutes before adding the pie filling 🙂
Since the recipe called for 2 cans of cherry pie filling, I used 1 cherry and one apple can of filling, using one fruit on left and the other on the right. After cooling and cutting into pieces, I had a selection of apple and cherry pieces. I did cut the apples into smaller pieces and it spread better like the small cherries.
Oh wow! What an interesting tweak! I never would have thought to do that, but it’s actually perfect. I far prefer apple desserts to cherry, but my mom and son are on the other side of the fence. This would work out very nicely for us. I will definitely try it! Thanks for sharing!
I’m concerned about the quantity of sugar (3 cups?) Is this an error?
It is not an error, Germaine. You’ll use 2 cups of granulated sugar for the bars themselves and another 1 cup of powdered sugar to make the glaze on top. You could leave off the glaze, and the bars would still taste good. Just not as sticky sweet and rich. 😉 That WOULD get rid of the powdered sugar entirely, though.
You might also be able to reduce the amount of sugar in the bars themselves to about 1 1/2 cup and add about 1/3 cup powdered milk to help maintain moisture and texture without affecting the taste too much. My gramma started using that trick after my grandpa began having trouble with his blood sugar. Depending on the dessert, I could SOMETIMES taste the difference, but more often than not, I didn’t really notice it.
I’ve never tried it myself, though.
Yes. It makes no sense using unsalted butter then to add salt anyway.
Hi, Barb. Using unsalted butter and then adding salt is simply a way for people to control the EXACT amount of salt they add to the recipe. With salted butter, you’re limited to adding however much salt is in the required amount of butter (i.e., a tablespoon of Country Crock has 100 mg sodium, so if a recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of butter, you HAVE to add 200 mg of sodium as well.)
When you use unsalted butter, you can add as little or much salt as you need, regardless of the butter amount. This allows you to tailor the salt ratio to suit your tastes or your dietary needs if you’re having to watch your salt intake. 🙂
However, if controlling the amount of salt in the recipe isn’t of special importance to you, you can always just use salted butter instead. I typically go that route when cooking for myself and my son. But if I’m making things for my grandmother, I have to be a bit more precise with the salt I use.
My dough was really sticky is this normal?
Hi, Terry!
How sticky is “really sticky”?
Because the ratio of wet ingredients to dry ingredients is pretty high, it’s normal for the dough to be somewhat sticky. The high sugar content contributes to the stickiness some, too.
If you make these again and find the dough to be too sticky, try chilling it in the fridge before spreading it in the pan. That should help. 🙂