Easy Cherry Pie Bars (Printable)

Tender buttery bars filled with sweet cherries and drizzled with vanilla glaze. An easy, crowd-pleasing dessert ready in under an hour.

# What You Need:

→ Dough

01 - 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
02 - 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
03 - 4 large eggs
04 - 1 tsp vanilla extract
05 - 1/2 tsp almond extract
06 - 3 cups all-purpose flour
07 - 1/2 tsp salt

→ Filling

08 - 1 (21 oz) can cherry pie filling

→ Glaze

09 - 1 cup powdered sugar
10 - 2-3 tbsp milk
11 - 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

# How-To:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan or line with parchment paper.
02 - In a large bowl, cream softened butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
03 - Beat in eggs one at a time, then add vanilla and almond extracts. Mix well.
04 - Whisk flour and salt in separate bowl. Gradually add to wet mixture, mixing just until combined.
05 - Spread about 2/3 of dough evenly into prepared pan, smoothing top.
06 - Spoon cherry pie filling evenly over dough layer.
07 - Drop small spoonfuls of remaining dough over cherry filling, leaving gaps for cherries to show through.
08 - Bake for 30-35 minutes until top is lightly golden and edges are set.
09 - Cool completely on wire rack before glazing.
10 - Whisk powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Drizzle over cooled bars.
11 - Allow glaze to set before slicing into 16 bars.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • Theyre impossibly simple to throw together but taste like you spent all afternoon in the kitchen
  • The buttery vanilla almond dough pairs perfectly with tart sweet cherries in a way that feels nostalgic yet new
  • You get all the comfort of cherry pie without the hassle of rolling out pastry dough
02 -
  • The dough will feel very soft and almost sticky compared to traditional cookie dough but this is exactly right so do not be tempted to add more flour
  • Cutting these bars too soon will result in a messy appearance so patience during the cooling phase is absolutely essential
03 -
  • Lightly flouring your hands makes pressing the dough into the pan so much easier and prevents sticking
  • If the glaze seems too thick add just a few drops of milk at a time until it reaches the perfect pourable consistency

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