Tart Cherry Cheddar Bars Recipes

CHERRY BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extracts. Gradually add flour., Spread 3 cups dough into a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Spread with pie filling. Drop remaining dough by teaspoonfuls over filling. Bake 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack., In a small bowl, mix confectioners' sugar, extracts and enough milk to reach desired consistency; drizzle over top.

QUICK AND EASY CHERRY BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the dough and spread the rest into the bottom of the prepared pan. Cover this layer evenly with cherry pie filling. Drop the rest of the dough by spoonfuls on top of the cherry layer and spread to cover the best you can.
• Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, until top is golden. Frost with a confectioners' glaze when cool for sweeter bars. Let cool completely before cutting into bars.

TART CHERRY PIE BARS WITH OATMEAL CRUMBLE (VEGAN AND GLUTEN FREE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper and generously spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
• Make the base + topping: In a large bowl, use a fork to mix together the oat flour, oats, coconut sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
• Add in melted butter, vanilla extract and almond extract and stir until a nice crumble forms and dough begins to clump together. Place 1 ½ cups of the mixture into the prepared pan and place the remaining mixture into the fridge (the remaining mixture will be used for the topping). Use your hands to evenly press the dough to the bottom of the pan.
• Next make your cherry pie filling: place a medium pot over medium heat. Add in tart cherries, maple syrup, almond extract, cornstarch (or arrowroot) and salt. Use a wooden spoon to press down and break down the cherries just a bit.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook for 5 more minutes until mixture is thickened up and nicely coats the back of a spoon without being too drippy. If it's too drippy stir in 1-2 teaspoons more cornstarch or arrowroot.
• Pour mixture over the crust and use a spoon to evenly spread.
• Take the remaining topping out of the fridge. By now there should be some nice crumbles that have clumped together. Sprinkle the topping over the tart cherry filling. Bake for 30 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping is golden.
• Allow bars to cool completely on a wire rack before transferring to the fridge to chill. Bars are delicious served at room temperature or straight out of the fridge. Use a sharp knife to cut into 16 bars before serving.

TART CHERRY CHEDDAR BARS

Steps:

• Line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides. Grease the foil. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
• Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in a food processor. Add the butter and cheese and pulse until the flour is pale yellow and coarse.
• Press half the flour mixture firmly into the prepared pan. Bake just until golden, about 15 minutes. Cool slightly. Spread the preserves evenly over the crust, then sprinkle the remaining flour mixture evenly over the preserves. Bake at 325° until the top is golden, about 25 minutes. Place on a wire rack and cool completely, about 1 hour.
• When cool, use the foil "handles" to lift the bar from the pan and cut.