If you love cherry pie but don’t want the hassle of rolling out crusts, these cherry bars are the perfect solution. With a soft, buttery base, a sweet cherry filling, and a light powdered sugar glaze on top, they’re simple to make and perfect for sharing. Whether it’s a family gathering, holiday dessert table, or just a weekend treat, these bars deliver all the flavor of classic cherry pie in a fun, easy-to-serve form.
Cherry Bars
Ingredients:
For the Bars:
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Butter, softened | 1 ½ cups |
| Granulated sugar | 3 cups |
| Salt | 1 ½ teaspoons |
| Large eggs | 5 |
| Vanilla extract | 1 ½ teaspoons |
| Almond extract | 1 ½ teaspoons |
| All-purpose flour | 5 ½ cups |
| Baking powder | 1 ½ teaspoons |
| Cherry pie filling | 2 (21 oz) cans |
For the Glaze:
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Confectioner’s sugar | 1 cup |
| Milk | 3 tablespoons |
How To Make Cherry Bars
Preheat Oven & Prep Pan:
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 12×17-inch jelly roll pan with foil and coat it with nonstick spray.
Make the Dough:
In a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar for about 1–2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add salt, eggs, vanilla extract, and almond extract, mixing until smooth. Gradually add the flour and baking powder, mixing until just combined.
Assemble the Bars:
Set aside 1 ¾ cups of dough. Press the remaining dough evenly into the prepared pan. Spread the cherry pie filling over the dough. Drop small pieces of the reserved dough on top of the cherries.
Bake:
Bake for 50–60 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbly.
Glaze & Serve:
Let the bars cool completely on a wire rack. Whisk together confectioner’s sugar and milk until smooth, then drizzle the glaze over the cooled bars. Cut into 35 squares and serve.
These cherry bars are fruity, buttery, and downright irresistible—the kind of dessert that disappears fast at parties and always gets rave reviews.