Hello friends! Today I bring to you a super easy recipe and video! These Almond Cherry Bars are super chewy, soft, topped with a delicious almond glaze! You will make these over and over!
This cherry bars recipe is one of my oldest recipes on the blog, and today I am updating it with new pictures, a new video, and fixing the baking time below on the instructions.
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I had the baking time set to 20-30 minutes, and that was clearly wrong, since these bars take about 45 minutes to bake, and can take up to 1 hour, depending on the size pan you use, and on your oven.
You can use a 9×9″ or 8×8″ pan to bake these bars. With the 9×9″, the bars will be just slightly shorter, and a bit thicker with the 8×8″.
These Almond Cherry Bars are perfect to pack for a picnic, or for a lunchbox.
And they will hold up pretty well for a few days stored in the fridge, but make sure to take them out and let them sit at room temperature for a while before serving. So that the butter in the dough has a chance to soften up.
I have also experimented to make these bars with part whole wheat flour, as a reader had suggested on the reviews below.
By the way, do read the reviews below and on Pinterest! They are awesome! These cherry bars are a crowd pleaser!
So when I made the bars with part whole wheat flour, they still came out pretty delicious, just a bit chewier, which is totally yum!
They also came out a bit dark as you can see on the pic below, the bars right below were made with 50% whole wheat flour, so 1 cup of all-purpose, and 1 cup of whole-wheat.
For the delicious glaze on top of these Almond Cherry Bars, I used an almond glaze. Simply sifted powdered sugar, mixed with almond milk (you can use regular), and almond extract.
If your glaze is too thin and runny, add more sifted powdered sugar to make it thicker.
Now if the glaze is too thick, add a bit more milk. And by a bit more milk, I actually mean a few drops. In glazes like these, a little liquid goes a long way, so be mindful!
Make sure to watch the video on this page and on Youtube, showing you how to make these delicious Almond Cherry Bars!
If you love soft and chewy bars, this is the dessert for you!
If you liked this recipe, here are some more recipes you may enjoy:
- Brookies
- Baked Oatmeal Cups
- Biscoff Brownies
- Chocolate Coconut Bars
- Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars
- Dulce de Leche Bars
If you make this recipe, please consider leaving a comment below, it helps my blog and also the other readers! And also tag me on instagram or share a picture on Pinterest! Nothing makes me happier than seeing you guys making my recipes that I put out with so much love! Thanks for reading!
Almond Cherry Bars
These Almond Cherry Bars are chewy, soft, and delicious! The most perfect almond and cherry flavors come together in this delightful treat! Enjoy with your coffee, or tea! Perfect for bake sales, afternoon tea time, breakfast, to pack in your lunch!
Ingredients
-
2
cups
all-purpose flour
(9 oz, 255 grams) -
1/2
cup
almond flour
(1.69 oz, 48 grams) -
3/4
cup
granulated sugar
(5.29 oz, 150 grams) -
1
tsp
baking powder -
1/4
tsp
kosher salt -
12
tbsp
unsalted butter
at room temperature (6 oz, 170 grams) -
1
large egg -
1/4
tsp
almond extract -
1
lemon (or lime)
zested and juiced -
3
cups
pitted cherries -
3
tbsp
granulated sugar -
1
tbsp
cornstarch
Glaze
-
1/2
cup
powdered sugar
sifted (2.65 oz, 75 grams) -
1
tbsp
almond milk
or just regular milk -
1/4
tsp
almond extract
Instructions
-
Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF.
-
Start by mixing the flour, almond flour, sugar, sugar, baking powder, kosher salt, and lemon zest in a bowl.
-
Add the butter and mix with a spatula until the butter is incorporated into the dry ingredients. You can also use your hands to make this easier. There shouldn't be any chunks of butter in the dough, it should be totally incorporated with the dry ingredients.
-
Add the egg, almond extract, and lemon juice.
-
Fold to combine all the ingredients, until a soft dough has formed. It will be sticky, like a cookie dough.
-
In a bowl, mix the pitted cherries, with 3 tbsp of granulated sugar, and 1 tbsp of cornstarch. Set aside.
-
Line the bottom of a 9×9" or 8×8" pan with parchment paper.
-
Spread half of the dough on the bottom of the pan.
-
Pour the cherries over dough and spread evenly.
-
Spread out the other half of the dough on top of cherries. Just drop equal amounts evenly distributed over the cherries. You can use a cookie scoop to do this, as I show on the video.
-
Then use your hands to help spread out the dough and flatten it. If the dough is too sticky you may flour your hands lightly.
-
Bake the bars for about 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
-
Let the bars cool down before slicing.
Glaze
-
Mix the sifted powdered sugar with the milk and almond extract. Adjust the consistency by adding more powdered sugar if the glaze is too thin, or adding more milk, if the glaze is too thick. Remember that a little goes a long way when it comes to adding liquids to glazes like this one.
-
Drizzle the almond glaze on top of the bars. Sprinkle some more sliced almonds on top.
Storage
-
Store the bars in the fridge for up to 5 days, covered. Let them sit at room temperature for a few minutes to soften up before serving.
Recipe Notes
Flour: I’ve experimented making this recipe with half whole wheat flour and half all-purpose flour, as per the recommendations from a reader, and it turned out fabulous!
Baking time: Baking time could be up to 1 hour, depending on the pan you are using (smaller pan will yield thicker bars that may take longer to bake), and depending on your oven.
Cherries: feel free to substitute the cherries for blueberries.
I am loving this recipe! Almond and cherry together sound delicious, and that glaze….YUM!
Thank you so much Danielle!
I had extra cherries in my fridge! Saw this recipe and decides to make it! This recipe is a definite keeper!
Followed the directions however I felt it didn’t require the glaze! Thanks for posting!
Thank you so much Tina!!! Im so glad you enjoyed it!
I haven’t made them yet, but can I add shivered almonds to the bars? It would taste nice along with the other almond extract and flour. Also had a little trouble trying to increase yield to 24 bars, with the calculations provided. Some of the amounts on the ingredients are confusing
yes you can add it
I would like to make these gluten free. I was going to use all almond flour. Thoughts?
Sorry I really have no idea if it is going to work with almond flour, as I havent experimented with it.
I have everything in my pantry to make these. You really make the best desserts and I love all of your recipes. I am going to try these today I love cherry anything!
Thank you so much Claudia!!! I am so happy you like my recipes!!!
These look so yummy! I love almonds and how easy is your almond glaze!! Can’t wait to try this!
Thank you so much, Lauren!!
You are right, you should make both cherry and blueberry too. With almonds on the top they are absolutely irresistible.
I thought the almonds were a delicious touch to my Cherry Bars. Thank you!
These almond cherry bars are so pretty… What I wouldn’t give for a couple with my coffee right now!
Ohh these cherry bars are delicious with coffee! Thank you Tara!!
I am so into fruit bars lately and I must say that I’m most partial to cherry! These bars look oh so yummy! Pinning now…and thanks for the easy recipe!
Thank you so much Traci! I am glad you liked my Cherry Bars!!
I’m so tempted by your recipe! I’ve been meaning to go cherry picking for a while now, and now I have sufficient motivation to do so!
Omg cherry picking sounds awesome! I wish there was cherry picking near me!!!
With cherry season in full swing…I can see why you picked cherries. I LOVE blueberries…so I would love to give this recipe a try with them too.
Thank you so much Gloria!!
These almond cherry bars look so delicious and perfect for the summer! Almonds and cherries is such a delicious combo – both flavor-wise and color-wise. YUM!
Thank you Natalie!!
These almond cherry bars look so amazing! I’m sure these do disappear fast!
They sure do!! Thank you!!
These look so good – the flavours are so summery and they would make the perfect snack!
I love cherries, they look like the perfect thing to go in there bars!
You had me at chewy!! These look delicious and are the perfect combination for a tasty tea time treat. Love that glaze too, can’t wait to make these x
Thanks Michelle!!
Just to clarify before I make these. You stated add some more almonds on top. Were there almonds somewhere else in the recipe? Do you add almonds on top before you bake as well? Thanks!
Hello! Thanks for your question, Kim!! Yes there are ground almonds in the recipe, or almond flour as you will. 1/2 cup of it in the cookie dough. Then, for the top, I used about 1/2 cup of sliced almonds after I drizzled the glaze on top of the bars after they are baked! I will fix the recipe to list this 1/2 cup of sliced almonds that go on top after baked and glazed! Thank you for bringing to my attention!! Have a great day and I hope you love this recipe!!!
Ok so I missed cherry season but I couldn’t resist still
making these. I made them with frozen dark sweet cherries and they were a success. Just make sure you thaw and drain the liquid. I also chopped the cherries quite small because I don’t like a hunk of cherry in a bar. I’ve turned everyone who is “not a cherry fan” into a cherry fan :0)
Nice, Michelle! Then you did a great job making these!! I am glad everyone loved it!! Sounds great with the frozen dark sweet cherries! Have a great day!! Thank you for making my recipe!
Loved this recipe! I made these bars with slight variations to make it vegetarian and to suit my taste buds 🙂 and they turned out absolutely fabulous. Thank you!!
What do you think would be the best substitute for egg in this recipe? I used baking soda, oil and vinegar but I think mine were too crumbly.
I love using aquafaba (water from a chickpea can) as a substitute for eggs, in the same volume proportion.
Loved this recipe Camila! I stumbled upon it yesterday and tried it today :). I made slight variations to remove egg and to suit my taste buds 🙂 and they turned out absolutely fabulous. Thank you for this recipe!
What do you think is the best substitute for eggs in this recipe? I used 1 1/4 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp water, 1 tsp oil, 1/4 tsp vinegar and I think mine were too crumbly.
Thank you so much. So I like to use aquafaba (water from a chickpea can) as a substitute for eggs, in the same volume.
Hummmmm!! Que delícia!! A apresentação ficou maravilhosa!!
I have a question on almond four. Can I use a spice grinder and just grind some almonds? Any adjustments for fat content based on what your recipe expects?
for this recipe yes you can grind up almonds yourself. If making macarons, otherwise, I dont recommend grinding your own almonds.
The cherry bars were great!! I did use a food processor and ground some almonds as fine as I could and used that for the 1/2 cup almond flour. I also put some sliced almonds on top of the first layer of spread dough before pouring the cherries, so I had more almonds – and everyone loved them! Keeping this recipe to make again! Great results and most ingredients already in my kitchen.
Made these today. With some adjustments. I creamed the butter and sugar first then added egg, extract, lemon juice, and any wet stuff. The dry things were mixed together in a separate bowl.
I didn’t have a lemon so I used lemon juice (3 tablespoons) from the fridge and omitted the lemon extract.
I used frozen cherries which I rinsed under warm water twice- about 10 minutes after the first rinse. Added the sugar, subbed tapioca starch, and added a 1/4 t of almond extract.
Overall my batter was a little too lemony, but had the perfect consistency for a bar.
I refrigerated the dough for 10 minutes and put 2/3 of the batter on on the bottom of a glass pan. Baked for 10 minutes. Added the cherries without the juices. and the remainder of the dough. I baked for an additional 45 minutes until the edges were golden brown.
I have been wanting to recreate some bars from a favorite bakery and I think the dough for these bars will be perfect those bars.
Que delícia 😋 😋 😋 😋 😋