My Cherry Pie Bars with Lemon Glaze are simpler than pie, with a buttery oat crust and a do-it-yourself filling created from contemporary candy cherries.
Higher Than Pie: Summer season Cherry Bars with Lemon Drizzle
I’m an enormous fan of fruit desserts, and whereas I like a superb slice of traditional cherry pie, I don’t all the time have the time (or persistence) to cope with pie dough. That’s the place these Cherry Pie Bars are available in. They’ve bought every little thing I crave in a pie—the buttery crust and the jammy cherry filling that I make from scratch—simply in a a lot simpler, slice-and-serve format like my lemon brownies and strawberry crumble bars. The buttery oat crust doubles as each the bottom and the crumble topping, which saves me time and dishes. I bake them in a sq. 9-inch pan and drizzle on a easy lemon glaze that makes these bars look bakery-perfect. They slice neatly, journey properly, and slot in all over the place—from a yard summer season picnic to a festive vacation dessert desk, together with my blueberry peach crisp and old school peach cobbler.
Do-it-yourself Cherry Filling
For these bars, I make the cherry filling from scratch, utilizing contemporary candy cherries which are presently in season. They’re juicy and provides the filling nice taste. Frozen cherries work too (candy or bitter), and don’t thaw them earlier than cooking—this retains the filling from getting watery. Bitter cherries are extra conventional for pie filling, and in the event you use these, simply add a bit extra sugar to chop the tartness.
The trick is cooking the cherries simply lengthy sufficient to launch their juices earlier than including the starch. That means the filling thickens correctly and doesn’t soak into the crust.
You may Want These Substances:
Make Cherry Pie Bars (Step-by-Step Pictures)
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9 inch sq. pan with parchment or evenly grease.
- Cherry Filling: In a saucepan, cook dinner cherries, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla for 3–4 minutes. Stir in starch and cook dinner 2–3 min extra till thickened.
- Crust/Topping: Pulse flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a meals processor. Add butter and pulse to coarse crumbs. Combine in crushed egg simply till crumbly.
- Assemble & Bake: Reserve 1 cup for topping, press the remaining into the pan. Unfold do-it-yourself cherry filling over crust, sprinkle with reserved topping, and bake 40–45 min till golden and bubbly. Cool fully.
- Lemon Glaze: Whisk powdered sugar with 1 teaspoon lemon juice, then milk (just a few drops at a time) till pourable. Drizzle over cooled bars, let set 15 min earlier than slicing.
Cherry Pie Bars
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Substances
Oat Crust and Topping
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (180 grams)
- 1 ¼ cups old school rolled oats (125 grams)
- ½ cup mild brown sugar (100 grams) packed
- ½ teaspoon baking powder (2 grams)
- ¼ teaspoon salt (1.5 grams)
- ¾ cup unsalted butter (170 grams) chilly, cubed
- 1 massive egg (50 grams)
Cherry Filling
- 3 cups pitted contemporary candy cherries (480 grams), if utilizing frozen, don’t thaw
- ⅓ cup mild brown sugar (65 grams)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (15 milliliters)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (5 milliliters)
- ¼ cup tapioca starch or cornstarch (30 grams)
Lemon Glaze
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ cup powdered sugar (60 grams)
- 1 tablespoon milk or cream (15–30 milliliters)
Directions
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Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9 inch sq. pan with parchment paper or evenly grease it.
Make Cherry Filling
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In a medium saucepan, mix the candy pitted cherries, brown sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla. Prepare dinner over medium warmth for 3–4 minutes, stirring typically, till the cherries begin to launch juice.
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Stir within the tapioca starch and cook dinner for one more 2–3 minutes, till the combination thickens. Take away from warmth and let cool barely.
Make the Oat Crust
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Place the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt in a meals processor. Pulse 3–4 occasions to mix.
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Add chilly, cubed butter. Pulse till the combination resembles coarse crumbs with small pea-sized bits.
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Crack the egg right into a small bowl and beat evenly. Add it to the meals processor and pulse simply till the combination begins to come back collectively—it ought to nonetheless look crumbly however be cohesive when pressed.
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Take away 1 heaping cup (about 150 grams) of this combination and set it apart for the topping.
Assemble & Bake
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Press the remaining crust combination evenly and firmly into the underside of the ready pan.
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Spoon the cherry filling evenly over the crust.
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Sprinkle the reserved oat topping evenly over the cherries.
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Bake for 40–45 minutes or longer, till the highest is evenly golden and the filling is effervescent on the edges.
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Let cool fully within the pan on a wire rack.
Make Lemon Glaze
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Add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice on to the powdered sugar first and whisk collectively. Then whisk in 1 tablespoon of milk progressively. The sugar buffers the acidity, stopping curdling. If wanted, add extra milk just a few drops at a time till a thick however pourable consistency kinds.
Notes
- Can I exploit canned cherry pie filling as a substitute of constructing the filling? Sure, however I like to recommend do-it-yourself—the feel and taste are more energizing. If utilizing canned filling, scale back sugar within the crust barely since canned filling is normally very candy.
- How do I forestall soggy crust when utilizing frozen cherries? Don’t thaw the cherries, and ensure to make use of sufficient starch (tapioca or cornstarch). Baking till the perimeters bubble additionally helps set the filling.
- Can I make these gluten-free? Sure—substitute a 1:1 gluten-free flour mix for the all-purpose flour, and ensure to make use of licensed gluten-free oats. The feel will likely be barely extra crumbly however nonetheless scrumptious.
- Use a cherry pitter: A cherry pitter, which yow will discover on Amazon, is a large time saver. It makes pitting a complete bag of cherries fast and simple.
Egg-Free Possibility:
Use a Flax Egg To interchange the egg within the oat crust and topping. Right here is how to try this: combine 1 tablespoon floor flaxseed with 2 ½ tablespoons water (7 grams flax + 37 milliliters water ). Stir properly and let sit for five–10 minutes till thick and gel-like As soon as it’s prepared, add the flax egg to the meals processor after pulsing within the butter (similar to you’d with a daily egg), and pulse to mix till the combination clumps barely when pressed.
Storage, Reheating & Make-Forward:
- Storage – Hold bars lined at room temperature for as much as 2 days, or refrigerate for as much as 5 days.
- Reheating – These bars style nice at room temp, however in order for you them barely heat, microwave for 10–15 seconds.
- Freezing – Wrap tightly in parchment and plastic wrap, then retailer in an hermetic container for as much as 2 months. Thaw in a single day within the fridge.
- Make-Forward – You’ll be able to bake the bars a day prematurely, glaze earlier than serving, they usually’ll nonetheless style contemporary. It’s also possible to make a cherry filling as much as 2 days prematurely.
Diet
