Cherry Pie Bars are the perfect layered dessert bars. They have a thick, flaky, and buttery shortbread crust base, followed by a layer of sweet cherry filling and are topped with another layer of shortbread crust-like topping. A sweet glaze is drizzled on top. If you like cherry pie (I'm a huge fan of cherry pie!), then you will enjoy these easy dessert bars.
If you are looking for a crowd-pleasing easy dessert recipe that is rich and and bursting with flavor, look no further than these cherry pie bars!
Easy Cherry Pie Bars is the perfect summertime or Holiday dessert. They’re great for any potluck, party, or celebration where you need to bring a tasty dessert to share.
Dessert bars are always a hit with my family, if your family likes them too, try these super tasty Raisin Spice Bars or Classic Lemon Bars. Another crowd pleasing dessert bar recipe is this Banana Cake Bars recipe that is always a winner!
These Tasty Bars Use Simple Ingredients
• Sugar
• Unsalted Butter
• Shortening - or use all butter.
• Large Eggs - plus two yolks for a rich crust.
• Vanilla Extract - or vanilla bean paste.
• Salt
• Almond Extract - compliments the cherry very well.
• All-Purpose Flour - don't use self-rising!
• Canned Cherry Pie Filling - or make your own with fresh cherries.
Sweet Almond Glaze:
• Powdered Sugar
• Milk
• Vanilla
• Almond Extract
Can I Use a Different Fruit Pie Filling Besides Cherry?
Absolutely! This easy recipe is a great base recipe to work off of and can be adapted to use almost any flavor of fruit pie filling you like. Blueberry, peach, lemon, strawberry, raspberry, and apple are all popular options.
Can the Dough Be Made Ahead of Time?
Yes it can. You can make the dough ahead of time and store it in an airtight container or plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in advance. This is a great time saver. You will want to let the dough warm up a little before using it.
Can This Recipe Be Doubled?
This Cherry Pie Bar recipe is easy to double for a larger crowd. You could even scale it to make more bars for something like a bake sale.
Be sure you have two baking dishes, or make them in batches in the pan that you have.
How to Make the Best Cherry Pie Bars
These simple cherry pie bars are easy to make. The hardest part is waiting for them while they bake for over an hour. But, trust me, the wait is well worth it once you taste one of these flaky, gooey, sweet Cherry Pie dessert bars.
1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13” baking dish with parchment paper and lightly spray with baking spray. Set prepared baking dish aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the sugar, butter, and shortening. Mix on medium-high speed until smooth.
3. Add the eggs and mix until just combined.
4. Mix in the vanilla, salt, and almond extract.
5. Add the flour and mix until just incorporated.
6. After mixing the dough, use your hands or a spatula to press ⅔ of the dough evenly into the bottom of the pan.
7. Spoon the cans of cherry pie filling on top of the dough.
8. Drop small dollops of the remaining dough on top of the pie filling. Scatter the dollops of dough over the cherry filling layer evenly.
9. Place the dish into the preheated oven on the center rack and bake for about 1 hour 25 minutes, or until golden brown. If one side of the pan is browning too quickly, turn the pan around so the other side browns evenly.
10. Once baked, remove the bars from the oven and place onto a wire rack to cool completely. Then gather the glaze ingredients.
Sweet Almond Glaze
11. In a small mixing bowl, combine the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and a little almond extract. Whisk together until smooth.
12. Drizzle the sugar glaze over the top of the bars after they have cooled (don't glaze if freezing them).
13. Cut the dessert into bar form (you can get 12-15 nice sized individual bars).
14. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- This step is optional, however, it is highly recommended. Lining the baking pan with parchment paper makes removing the pie bars easier and makes cleanup easier.
- You could cut the parchment paper larger than the baking dish so it goes above the sides of the dish. Then use that extra bit to act as handles when you go to remove the dessert bars. This will make cutting these bars so much easier as they can be cut on a cutting board.
Do I Need to Use Parchment Paper to Line the Pan?
- Use the parchment paper "handles" to remove the Cherry Pie Bars from the baking dish after they have cooled. Set them on a cutting board.
If you didn't use parchment or don't want to remove the bars from the pan, you can cut them directly in the pan. - Get a nice sharp knife and run it under hot water. Wipe it dry before making your first cut.
- Make the first cut through the bars and then wipe the knife with a clean, moist paper towel to get off any of the filling or crust that may be stuck on it.
- After each cut, wipe the knife blade clean so it doesn't drag filling and crust through the cherry bars, helping keep the cuts clean. Use more hot water to heat the knife as needed.
How to Get Clean Cut Dessert Bars
We love how these bars taste, but it's nice to make them look pretty. This can be difficult as the bars are gooey. Here is what you can try to get nice clean cut Cherry Pie Bars.
How to Serve Cherry Pie Bars
They’re best served at room temperature or just slightly warm.
We love to enjoy our fruit pie bars with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream. It pairs well with the sweet cherry pie filling and the buttery homemade pie crust. You can also use whipped cream, or just enjoy them as is.
Cherry Pie Bars Tips and Variations
• You can get anywhere between twelve to fifteen delicious cherry pie bars out of this recipe, depending on how big or small you cut them.
• Don’t like to use shortening? Use all butter instead.
• If your dough is too sticky to press down into the pan, grab another sheet of parchment paper and place it on top of the dough as you press down– no more sticky hands!
• When you’re adding the topping, don’t try to spread it out evenly. Dollop the dough on top and just let it sit however it lands. Just use smaller dollops and distribute them as evenly as possible, but it doesn't have to be perfect!
• Letting the bars cool completely before slicing is important so the pie filling can set.
• Wait for the bars to cool completely before drizzling on the glaze so it can harden up a bit.
• Don’t skip the almond or vanilla extracts, they really help boost that cherry flavor from the pie filling.
How to Store Cherry Pie Bars
You can store these cherry dessert bars in the dish that you made them in, covered with aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Or you can place sliced bars in an airtight container.
I suggest putting parchment or wax paper in between layers if you have to layer them in a container. Store these at room temperature for up to 3 days.
You Can Also Freeze These Bars
1. Once the bars have cooled completely, place them flat on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and flash freeze them in the freezer for about an hour or so, or until they’re solid.
2. Once they’re frozen, place them in a freezer-safe container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
3. Remove them from the freezer and let thaw on the counter until you are ready to enjoy them.
More Easy Dessert Recipes
Classic Dump Cake
No-Bake Layered Raspberry Cheesecake
Cinnamon Coffee Cake
Slow Cooker Blueberry Cobbler
If you’re ready for a delicious dessert bar recipe that is sure to be the star of the dessert table, you have to make these tasty Cherry Pie Bars. They are a taste of home!
I would like to hear from you if you make this recipe! Just leave a comment with a star rating below.
Cherry Pie Bars
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- Parchment Paper
- 9"x13" baking dish
Ingredients
Bars
- 2 ⅓ cups Sugar
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter room temperature
- ¼ cup Shortening
- 4 Eggs + 2 Yolks
- 1 ½ teaspoons Vanilla
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Almond Extract
- 3 ⅓ cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2 21-ounce cans Cherry Pie Filling
Sweet Almond Glaze
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar
- 4 teaspoons Milk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon Almond Extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13” baking dish with parchment paper and lightly spray with baking spray. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine sugar, butter and shortening. Mix on a medium-high speed until smooth.
- Add eggs and mix until just combined. Then add in vanilla, salt and almond extract and mix to combine.
- Add flour and mix until just incorporated.
- Use your hands or a spatula to press ⅔ of the dough evenly into the bottom of the pan.
- Spoon the 2 cans of cherry pie filling on top of the dough, then drop small dollops of the remaining dough on top of the pie filling. Scatter the dollops of dough evenly over the cherry filling.
- Place the dish into the preheated oven on the center rack and bake for about 1 hour 25 minutes, or until golden brown. If one side of the pan is browning too quickly, turn the pan around so the other side browns evenly.
- Once baked, remove the bars from the oven and place onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Sweet Almond Glaze
- In a small mixing bowl combine the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and almond extract. Whisk together until smooth.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled bars. Cut into 12-15 bars and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Lanie says
I love the crust, it's like a cookie. These are great bars.