Cherry Pie Bars are sweet dessert bars with a buttery crumble crust topped with homemade cherry pie filling. It’s like enjoying a cherry pie without all the fuss of baking a pie!
Cherry Pie Bars
I love a crumbly, buttery crumb, so I knew this recipe would be a winner. And then, my homemade cherry pie filling set the bars to a new level of yumminess. It’s not a hard recipe to make, using ingredients you probably already have on hand. And, if you love cherries, you will not want to pass up these bars!
Ingredients
Butter: Melt the unsalted butter and then let it cool a bit before mixing with the sugar.
Pie Filling: I used 2 cups of my homemade cherry pie filling. However, you could get by with a 21-ounce can of store-bought pie filling as well. If you use the canned pie filling, the bars will be a bit sweeter and will look redder (brighter).
Can I Use a Different Kind of Pie Filling?
Sure! If cherry pie filling is not your choice for the filling, try another kind! You could use apple pie filling, peach, blueberry, or your favorite fruit pie filling.
Can I Use a Different Sized Pan?
Yes. If you don’t have an 8×8-inch baking dish, you can use a 9×9-inch dish. You can use a 9×13 but the bars will be thin.
How to Store Cherry Pie Bars
Once the bars have been baked, let them cool completely. Then, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.
Can I Freeze these Bars?
Yes! Again, let the bars cool completely before freezing them. Then, cut the bars to your desired size. Layer the bars with parchment or wax paper in between and store them in a freezer-safe container for up to three months. However, when thawed, the bars may lose some of the crumble texture.
More Cherry Treats
Cherry Pie Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick / 113 g) unsalted butter, melted, cooled to room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1½ cups (187.5 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups (510 g) cherry pie filling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, including up the sides of the dish.
- In a large mixing bowl, add butter and sugar. Stir to combine.
- Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Use a fork to stir the mixture together until combined. The mixture should look like crumbs.
- Remove ¾ cup of the mixture to use as the topping and set aside.
- Firmly press the remaining crumb mixture into the lined pan.
- Top with cherry pie filling.
- Using your hands, evenly distribute the reserved crumb mixture over the cherry pie filling.
- Bake 23-25 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Let the bars cool before cutting and serving.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
You are my go to for receipes now. Thank you for all the yummy things you put together.
Blessings
I can’t eat flour can I use anything else?
Looks Delicious
Got this basic recipe from neighbor, Mrs Benson, in 1952 in Elmhurst. Was called cherry slices. Has evolved into family’s favorite pie.
Made it. Didn’t stay together. Fell apart. Even placed in freezer and still fell apart.
Hi Karen. What didn’t stay together??? I’m struggling to understand how it fell apart.
I have out a variety of pie fillings in the freezer – cherry/peach, cherry/apricot/blueberry, peach/blackberry. Just made the square and used cherry/peach – very yummy.
Love it, I made it for my great grand daughter who loves cherries! It is very good turned out great and very yummy
Can I use vegan butter to make these vegan?
Looks wonderful.
Hi, Amanda.. I just found your site & made the Cherry Pie Bars recipe yesterday. Yumm-o! Talk about delicious & rich. Such a simple recipe with great results. The directions were perfectly easy to follow & I already had all the ingredients in the cupboard. A big plus: I didn’t have to spend a lot of time in a hot kitchen.
My two down sides were my own doing. I used canned cherry filling, which tasted just fine, but next time I will cook the cherry juice on the stove & add a bit of cornstarch to thicken it. Straight the out of the can, the cherry juice was too liquidy & made the center of the finished crust too stodgy. I will also add a smidge of lemon juice for balance to the sweetness.
While this certainly is a stand-alone dessert, I wish I had had vanilla ice cream to serve along with the bars. That would be ‘gilding the lily’ for sure!
I’m happy to find your site & I’m already looking forward to the next recipe. Many thanks.
These recipes are all totally easy to make because most of us have supplies available.
Thank you for sending these via the internet 🙏😉👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻