Cherry Pie Crumb Bars
Buttery shortbread‑style crust layered with sweet cherry pie filling and topped with crumbly streusel — a simplified cherry pie in bar form.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 32–35 minutes
- Total Time: about 1 hour (including cooling)
- Yield: 16 bars 1x
- Category: Dessert Bars
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 cups all‑purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 cups pitted cherries (fresh or frozen)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (for filling)
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp water
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- zest of ½ lemon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (in filling)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 °F. Line a 9″ square pan with parchment paper.
- Make cherry filling: combine cherries, ½ cup sugar, lemon juice, water, lemon zest, and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until cherries soften and juices release. Stir cornstarch with a bit of water to make a slurry and add to cherries; cook until thickened. Cool.
- Mix crust/crumb dough: in a bowl combine flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in melted butter and vanilla until mixture clumps but crumbles easily.
- Reserve about ⅓ of dough. Press remaining dough firmly into pan bottom.
- Spread cooled cherry filling over crust. Crumble reserved dough evenly on top.
- Bake 32–35 minutes until filling bubbles at edges and topping turns golden.
- Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate to set before slicing into bars.
Notes
- Use frozen cherries if fresh are unavailable—they take slightly longer to cook but work well. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}
- For easier slicing, chill bars after cooling. Dip a knife in hot water before cutting for clean edges. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days or refrigerated up to 5 days; freeze up to 3 months. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar (1 of 16)
Keywords: cherry, crumb bars, pie bars, shortbread, summer dessert
Find it online: https://recipesfoodeasy.com/cherry-pie-crumb-bars/
