Easy Cherry Crumb Bars
Cherry Crumb Bars – an easy dessert bar made with fresh cherries with a sweet crust and crunchy crumb topping. This is an easy dessert recipe to make with fresh cherries. Sweet, a little tart, and perfect for sharing!
These homemade cherry bars are a great way to use fresh cherries when they are in season during the summer. I love the sweet, tart fruit with the buttery crust and topping.
They’re like cherry pie bars but with a delicious crumb topping. The topping, crust, and cherry filling is the best combination. They can be served plain or serve as a dessert with a scoop of ice cream on top!
For this recipe, the cherries are cooked with sugar and lemon until the cherries break down. The cherry mixture is spooned over a simple crust and then topped with a crunchy sweet crumb topping.
Table of Contents
Table of contents
There’s not a lot of waiting time with this recipe, which I love. You can make and bake them in about an hour and then the only hard part is waiting for them to cool.
You can make them ahead, too, and store them in the refrigerator. This is great if you’re planning a summer party and want to get the dessert made ahead of time. I can promise everyone will want to try one of these cherry crumb bars!
Ingredients
- Pitted cherries cut in half
- Granulated sugar
- Lemon juice
- Ground cinnamon
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
- Baking powder
- Granulated sugar
- Softened butter
- Vanilla extract
- Large egg
Ingredient tip: Swap the vanilla for almond extract for a different flavor. Almonds and cherries go really well together.
How to Make the Cherry Crumble Bars
Combine the cherries, sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon in a large saucepan. Cook them over medium heat for five to ten minutes and stir often. Set the pot aside while you make the crust and toppping.
Whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, and granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the softened butter, vanilla, and egg. Mix until the mixture is a crumbly dough.
Remove one cup of the mixture and set it aside. Press the rest of the mixture into an 8″ square baking dish lined with parchment paper.
Spoon the cherry mixture over the crust and then sprinkle the the remaining crumb mixture over the top of the filling.
Bake the bars for 30 to 35 minutes at 350°F. Allow them to cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes. Lift the bars out of the pan with the parchment paper and place them on a wire rack to cool completely before slicing them.
Storage Tips
These cherry bars with crumble topping will keep at room temperature for two to three days in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap. Or you can keep them in the refrigerator for a few days longer.
You can also freeze them in a freezer bag or container for two to three months.
These cherry pie crumble bars will disappear fast if you make them! They never last long at our house – everyone can’t wait to get their hands on one. Enjoy!
More Delicious Cherry Recipes
Easy Cherry Crumb Bars
Ingredients
- 3 cup pitted cherries (halved)
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- juice of ½ lemon (1 tablespoon)
- 1 pinch cinnamon
- 2¼ cups all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt*
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup butter (room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
*If you use unsalted butter then add â…“ teaspoon of salt.
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350F (180C). Line an 8 inch square pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium pot add the cherries, sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon. Cook on medium heat stirring often until soft approximately 5-10 minutes. Set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk the flour, salt, baking powder and sugar until well combined. Add the butter, vanilla and egg and combine to form a crumbly mixture. Remove 1 cup and set aside.
- Place the crumb mixture in the prepared pan and pat down. Pour the cherry mixture on top and sprinkle the 1 cup of crumbs on top. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Let cool 10-15 minutes in the pan then remove to a wire rack to cool completely before cutting and serving. Enjoy!
These Cherry crumb bars look so good, but when cherries aren’t in season can I replace them with frozen cherries?
Hi Carol, yes you can! just don’t let them thaw 🙂