Cravings of a Lunatic

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Cherry Bars

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These Cherry Bars are incredibly easy to make and absolutely scrumptious. They’re sure to be a hit with all your friends and family.

Cherry Bars aka Cherry Kuchen on a white plate

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.

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.

Cherry Bars aka Cherry Kuchen in a pan with icing being drizzled over top!

Ingredient Notes:

  • Butter – Honestly, you can use salted or unsalted butter for this recipe. However, it does need to be softened butter.
  • Sugar – I used granulated sugar and confectioners’ sugar for this recipe. Confectioners’ sugar is icing sugar, just to clarify.
  • Salt – Normally, I would say you can omit salt in some recipes but in this one I find it enhances the sweetness of the bars. That said, if you are watching your sodium intake for health reasons, you can omit it.
  • Eggs – For this recipe, I used large eggs.
  • Extract – Not all extracts are equal. I actually used almond extract for these bars. Almond extract works beautifully with cherry recipes.
  • Flour – I used all purpose flour. You don’t need to sift it for this particular recipe.
  • Cinnamon – Not only does cinnamon smell amazing but it really adds flavour and warmth to recipes, in my opinion. Don’t skimp on the cinnamon.
  • Nutmeg – While I love cinnamon like no other, I also really love nutmeg in a lot of baking. The flavour adds a nice touch to cherry desserts, especially when combined with cinnamon.
  • Pie filling – For these bars, I used cherry pie filling. You could easily swap out other flavours of pie filling if you like.
  • Milk – I used 2 % milk for this recipe. You could also use water if you don’t have milk on hand.

close up image of cherry bars on a spoon

How to Make Cherry Bars:

  1. First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Then, spray a pan with non-stick spray.
  3. Next, in a large bowl combine the butter, granulated sugar and salt. Cream them together till light and fluffy.
  4. Now add the eggs, one at a time. Mix well after adding each egg.
  5. Then, add the almond extract and mix briefly.
  6. Next, gradually add the flour.
  7. Add the cinnamon and nutmeg next and mix briefly by hand.
  8. After that, pour about 3 cups of the batter into a prepared pan and smooth out.
  9. Next, take spoonfuls of the pie filling and drop them randomly over the batter.
  10. Then, drop the remaining batter randomly over the pie filling.
  11. Bake in a preheated oven for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
  12. Remove the bars from the oven and allow to cool in the pan.
  13. Next, in a small bowl combine confectioners’ sugar, extract and milk. Whisk until smooth.
  14. Pour the icing over the bars randomly.
  15. Slice and serve!

overhead image of Cherry Bars aka Cherry Kuchen

Variations:

  • Blueberry – Use blueberry pie filling instead of cherry.
  • Peach – You can make your own peach pie filling or buy canned peach pie filling.
  • Apple – Honestly, apple pie filling is pretty easy to make but feel free to use pre-made if you like.
  • Lemon – Personally, I’ve been dying to try these with lemon curd.
  • Rhubarb – These would be amazing with rhubarb or a rhubarb-strawberry combination.
  • Strawberry – To be honest, strawberry pie filling is another one you can make easily on your own. If you’re not inclined to make it buy canned.
  • Blackberry – Use fresh blackberries to make a fun homemade version of this recipe.
  • Mixed Berry – I buy mixed berries in the frozen food aisle often. These bars would be amazing with a mixed berry base.

Cherry Bars aka Cherry Kuchen on a white plate with a pink and white spoon resting on the plate

Other Fabulous Dessert Recipes:

Cherry Bars aka Cherry Kuchen in a pan with some slices cut out.

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Cherry Bars aka Cherry Kuchen on a white plate
Print Pin
5 from 3 votes

Cherry Bars

These Cherry Bars are incredibly easy to make and absolutely scrumptious. They're sure to be a hit with all your friends and family.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword cherry bars, cherry kuchen
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 16
Calories 380kcal
Author Kim Beaulieu

Equipment

Ingredients

For the Bars:

For the Glaze:

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Now add the eggs, one at a time, mixing really well after each addition.
  • Add the extract, mix again.
  • Now gradually add the flour, mix on low while adding until it’s all combined. Add the cinnamon and nutmeg, mix briefly by hand.
  • Pour about 3 cups of the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth it out.
  • Now take spoonfuls of the cherry pie filling and drop them randomly over the batter. Smooth as best you can.
  • Now take the remaining batter and drop spoonfuls of it randomly over the pie filling portion.
  • Bake in preheated oven for about 30 to 35 minutes, you want the top golden brown.
  • Remove the dish from the oven and allow to cool completely.
  • 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.
  • Serve with a big old cherry loving smile.

Video

Notes

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home
Originally posted on February 15, 2015.

Nutrition

Calories: 380kcal | Carbohydrates: 61g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 78mg | Sodium: 275mg | Potassium: 97mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 507IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1mg

Cherry Bars aka Cherry Kuchen on a white plate that is sitting on a red and white napkin.

Thanks for visiting today!

If you’re looking for more dessert recipes be sure to check out my recipe index. You can also find a lot more snack recipes as well.

Be sure to follow me on Pinterest while you’re here. I love pinning great recipes! Also, make sure you follow me on Instagram. It’s a great way to stay up to date with the blog.

Toodles! 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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