Cherry Crumble Bars

5 from 1 vote

These sweet treats are triple layers of deliciousness! With a shortbread crust, cherry filling, and streusel topping, these Cherry Crumble Bars will be your new favorite dessert!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 55

Total Time 1 10

Servings bars

Calories 508kcal

Author Marlynn Schotland

Equipment

1 9-inch Square Baking Pan or you can bake in a 9x13-inch glass baking pan for thinner bars

Ingredients

Crumb Topping

1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

Crust

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-⅓ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Cherry Filling

1½ pounds pitted cheries
½ cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Instructions

Make the Crumb Topping

Combine all of the ingredients together in a large bowl. Using your hands or two forks, cut the butter into the dry ingredients. You can use your thumb and pointer finger to squeeze the butter and crumble it with the dry ingredients. Combine until you achieve small crumbles. Set aside.

Make the Crust

Preheat the oven to 350°F degrees. Prep a 9x9 inch square baking pan with either parchment paper or grease with butter. OR, if you want thinner bars, prep a 9x13-inch glass baking pan with parchment paper or grease with butter.
Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on low-medium, just until combined. Add vanilla and combine. Scrape down the sides with a spatula in between mixing as necessary to ensure all of the ingredients are well incorporated.
In a separate large bowl, sift together the flour and salt. Slowly add it to the butter mixture in the stand mixer, and mix well until the dough starts to form almost a ball. The dough may still be crumbly, but will bind together in the pan.
Gently press the dough into the prepared baking dish, using your hands to gently even out the dough across the whole dish and about ¼" up the sides. If you have a small rolling pin, you can also use that to even out the dough inside the pan.
Bake at 350°F for 5 minutes, just enough to help pre-bake the crust. While the crust is pre-baking, make the cherry filling.

Make the cherry filling

In a large bowl, gently mix together the cherries, cornstarch, sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice. Note: you can choose to lightly smash the cherries at this point if you prefer, instead of leaving the pitted cherries whole. The filling and the bars turn out delicious either way!

Assemble and Bake

Remove the pre-baked crust from the oven.
Top the shortbread crust layer evenly with a layer of the cherry filling.
Then sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the filling.
Bake at 350°F for 50-55 minutes. The top and edges of the dough will be slightly browned when done.
Allow too cool at room temperature for 10-15 minutes, then slice into bars.

Notes

Makes 16 square bars (if using a 9-inch square baking pan; the recipe makes more if baking in a 9x13-inch baking pan)

Storage: Bars will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days or in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.

To freeze: make sure the bars are cooled completely, then use parchment paper in-between sliced bars and place into a freezer safe container or ziplock bag. Freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw completely at room temperature before eating.

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