Cravings of a Lunatic

I Crave It, I Make It, I Eat It!

Cherry Bars

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Incredibly easy to make and absolutely scrumptious. These bars will be a real hit with all your friends and family. Make a batch, or two, today!

Cherry Bars are incredibly easy to make and absolutely scrumptious. These bars will be a real hit with all your friends and family!

These cherry bars are so easy to make. Layers of batter, cherry pie filling and lots of icing drizzled over top.

I think by now my readers have probably learned a couple of things about me. One is I love cherry pie filling more than any normal person should. Not even kidding, it’s a serious obsession.

The second thing is I have horrible timing. I wanted to post these weeks ago, but life just got in the way a little bit. I’m a bit of a procrastinator. Never intentionally. My life, just like most of you reading this, is quite hectic.

Two of my favourite cherry recipes are my no bake cherry cheesecake bars, and my toasted coconut and cherry hand pies. I’ve also been known to just grab a spoon and nosh it right out of the can.

This particular recipe reminds me of a Cherry Danish Dessert I made a couple of years ago. It’s quick simple to make yet it’s looks deceptively difficult to make. It’s perfect to serve as a dessert or for brunch.

Cherry Bars are incredibly easy to make and absolutely scrumptious. These bars will be a real hit with all your friends and family!

I made these bars after seeing them on pinterest. There are so many versions of them out there. For the purpose of this post I used Taste of Home‘s version, but tweaked it just a wee bit. I also really love Deliciously Sprinkled‘s version.

There are tons of versions of Cherry Bars, or Cherry Kuchen Bars, out there. Many bloggers have their own versions of them. They are incredibly popular because they taste so flipping amazing.

So whether you want to call them Cherry Bars, Cherry Pie Bars or Cherry Kuchen Bars, they will rock your world when you make them. The dough is perfectly soft, the sweet cherry pie filling with the glaze over top is perfection.

Whip some up today. I highly suggest making two batches at one time. Mostly because you’re going to eat the first batch while it’s still hot. It’s just too hard to resist. Those warm bars with the glaze drizzled over top. Irresistible.

Other Fabulous Dessert Recipes:

Products Used to Make These Cherry Bars:

  • 9 x 13 Pan: I have a bunch of 9 x 13 pans. I love my glass ones and I also love my metal ones. I think having a couple of different types is useful. For brownies I prefer metal pans. For bars like this I tend to grab my glass pans.
  • Mixing Bowls: Everyone needs a set of great mixing bowls. Make sure you get a set with multiple sizes. You can use them for just about everything.
  • Prep Bowls: These are great for mixing small batches of things like icing or even beating eggs. I highly recommend having at least two sets on hand. We used them for sauces and dips too.
  • Stand Mixer: Everyone needs a great stand mixer. I love my KitchenAid Stand Mixer. Yes, they are pricey but they are a worthwhile investment. I’ve had mine for over 10 years. Mine is a bowl lift but I would love a tilt head for making videos.
  • Hand Mixer: If you can’t afford to invest in a stand mixer just yet, buy a good quality hand mixer. I love KitchenAid products but there are tons of great brands out there. Buy the best one you can get for your budget.

Cherry Bars are incredibly easy to make and absolutely scrumptious. These bars will be a real hit with all your friends and family!

You can also see these Cherry Bars over at This Gramma is Fun (formerly known as Made from Pinterest). They were my January contributor post. If you aren’t following This Gramma is Fun, you should be. Awesome blog, great group of ladies running that site.

Updated on October 1, 2017 to include a recipe video. Hope you love it!

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5 from 3 votes
Cherry Bars are incredibly easy to make and absolutely scrumptious. These bars will be a real hit with all your friends and family!
Print
Cherry Bars
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Total Time
45 mins
 
Incredibly easy to make and absolutely scrumptious. These bars will be a real hit with all your friends and family. Make a batch, or two, today!
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12
Author: Kim Beaulieu
Ingredients
For the Bars:
  • 1 cup butter softened
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 can cherry pie filling
For the Glaze:
  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a pan with non-stick spray. You can use a 15 x 10 inch pan (sheet pan) or a 9 x 13 casserole dish. You just won’t get the straight edges with the pan I used. Things like that don’t rattle this girl.
  2. In a large bowl combine the butter, sugar, and salt. Cream them together until light and fluffy. I used my stand mixer with my paddle attachment.
  3. Now add the eggs, one at a time, mixing really well after each addition.
  4. Add the extract, mix again.
  5. Now gradually add the flour, mix on low while adding until it’s all combined. Add the cinnamon and nutmeg, mix briefly by hand.
  6. Pour about 3 cups of the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth it out.
  7. Now take spoonfuls of the cherry pie filling and drop them randomly over the batter. Smooth as best you can.
  8. Now take the remaining batter and drop spoonfuls of it randomly over the pie filling portion.
  9. Bake in preheated oven for about 30 to 35 minutes, you want the top golden brown.
  10. Remove the dish from the oven and allow to cool completely.
  11. In in a small bowl mix the confectioners’ sugar, extract and milk. Start with 2 tablespoons of milk, then adjust by adding more until you get the desired consistency for your glaze. Now drizzle the glaze over the bars. You can do it neatly, or messy. Matters little in the grand scheme of things.
  12. Serve with a big old cherry loving smile.
Recipe Notes

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home

Cherry Bars are incredibly easy to make and absolutely scrumptious. These bars will be a real hit with all your friends and family!

I seriously could not stop munching these when they came out of the oven. I could barely take photos fast enough so I could just sit down to eat a piece. I was trying to rush through the photos as fast as possible.

Cherry Bars are incredibly easy to make and absolutely scrumptious. These bars will be a real hit with all your friends and family!

One of the perks of blogging is the incredible food we get to eat. Not a shabby job at all, if I do say so myself. The most difficult part of blogging is waiting to eat the food until you get your shots for all your readers.

In the end you either get a lot of great photos while your stomach grumbles loudly, or you get a couple of decent shots before you cave and dive into the food like a shark that hasn’t eaten in month. Guess which way I went?

Cherry Bars are incredibly easy to make and absolutely scrumptious. These bars will be a real hit with all your friends and family!

So are you ready to dive into a batch yourself? I think you should. You can whip up two batches, then bring a batch to me. I’m a great taste tester. I might even do dishes for a batch of these bars. Okay, that might be stretching the truth a little. I’ll hire someone to do dishes. How’s that?

While you ponder making these while you eat a stale donut I’ll offer you one more tempting photo. Wanna bite?

Cherry Bars are incredibly easy to make and absolutely scrumptious. These bars will be a real hit with all your friends and family!

Hope you loved these. If you love cherry pie filling as much as I do make sure you keep tuning in. I have a cherry dip recipe coming up that’ll knock your socks off.

PIN THESE CHERRY BARS TO YOUR FAVOURITE DESSERT BOARD!

Cherry Bars are incredibly easy to make and absolutely scrumptious. These bars will be a real hit with all your friends and family!

Craving more Cherry Recipes? Check these out:

No Bake Cherry Cheesecake Bars

No Bake Cherry Cheesecake Bars | cravingsofalunatic.com | These no bake cherry cheesecake bars are sure to be a hit with family and friends. Whip up a batch today!

Toasted Coconut and Cherry Hand Pies

Toasted Coconut and Cherry Hand Pies | These little toasted coconut and cherry hand pies are absolutely scrumptious. Plus they are incredibly easy to make which is a huge perk!

Cherry Almond Macaroon Pie

Cherry Almond Macaroon Pie | This recipe is filled with flavour. The pie crust is filled with cherry pie filling, then topped with almonds and coconut. It's the perfect bite every time!

Swing by my recipe index for more great recipes. You can get lots of cherry inspiration from that recipe index. You an also follow me on Pinterest for tons of great recipe inspiration.

Have a great day filled with family, friends and lots of amazing food!!

Toodles and smoochies! xx

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Comments

    • Kim Beaulieu says

      It’s a weird addiction Anna, I can’t even explain it. I see a can of cherry pie filling and I get instantly giddy. I’m helpless to resist.

      Reply

    • Kim Beaulieu says

      Checking now. I’ll correct it momentarily if it’s wrong. It happens occasionally. I’ll double back once I look at my notes. Thanks for letting me know. Always appreciated.

      Reply

    • Kim Beaulieu says

      Thanks so much for catching that. Much appreciated. The downside to not having an editor on the pay roll. Never hesitate to let me know if you see errors. While I try never to make them, it happens on occasion.

      Reply

  5. Liz says

    You and your cherries 🙂 Another winner!!!
    P.S. Thanks so much for your friendship during this rough time. Your notes brought me the comfort I needed. xx

    Reply

  8. Miranda @ Cookie Dough & Oven Mitt says

    There is absolutely nothing wrong with a cherry pie filling obsession. I’m quite okay with it. These bars look amazing! The bright red filling really makes these bars pop. I love it! It is so hard to hold off on nibbling on the food before you get a shot. I have to be super sneaky and hide my goodies on my husband. He’s quite persistent on trying things immediately.

    Reply

  10. Jenny (VintageSugarcube) says

    I could not be trusted with the entire pan. I must make that the next time I’m feeding a gang of friends. That first picture is beyond luscious. Drizzle me crazy with that frosting.

    Reply

  11. Nibbles By Nic says

    Hi Kim!! Long time no see ( we met at IFBC) I LOVE LOVE LOVE these nibbles. Yes, cherry pie filling is quite the best thing ever!!! Thanks for posting this delicious recipe and hope all is well 🙂 xo Nic

    Reply

  14. Nancy @ gottagetbaked says

    Whoa Kim, these cherry bars look so pretty and elegant! I love cherry pie filling too but I haven’t eaten it in years. This post is totally making me crave it (spooning out of a can sounds good right about now).

    Reply

  16. Maureen says

    These cherry bars are just dripping goodness in every angle. I’m sure it also tastes amazing! Cherry filling is really good. I can’t wait to try to make one.

    Reply

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