Early every summer the roadside cherry stands show up in Washington and we stop and buy local cherries by the bagful. I don’t like pitting them (but this little tool helps a lot) or cleaning up the mess after my kids cover themselves in cherry juice, but we LOVE fresh cherries. I’ve been making this dessert the last couple summers and it’s time I shared it here. These cherry pie bars have a base/crumble similar to a sugar cookie, a juicy cherry-almond filling, and a sticky sweet lemon glaze. It just crossed my mind how sprinkling sliced almonds on top would make them extra beautiful/delicious!

The hardest part of this recipe is making sure the bars get cooked through. Because the cherries release a lot of moisture, I pre-bake the crust a bit before adding the filling. I also added more cornstarch to help it thicken. Even if it takes longer than the suggested baking time, don’t take the bars out of the oven if the center is still doughy. I’ve made that mistake before and had to toss the center of the dish. The bars will set up more as they cool. They’re the best served with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

Cherry Pie Cookie Bars

INGREDIENTS

Cherry Pie Filling:
5 cups fresh Bing/sweet cherries, pitted and halved (about 1 1/2 to 2 lbs., you can use frozen cherries, but make sure they are thawed and the juices drained off)
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. almond extract

Cookie Dough:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Lemon Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. lemon zest
~1 Tbsp. milk + extra to thin glaze

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. For easier cleanup, line a 9X13-inch baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Lightly grease the parchment/foil with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the cherries, sugar, cornstarch, and almond extract. Let sit while making the crust.
3. For the cookie dough, with an electric mixer (handheld or stand mixer), cream together the butter, sugar, milk, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and egg yolk. Mix until well-combined. Add the flour and mix until just combined and no dry streaks remain.
4. Take 2/3 of the dough (more or less) and press into the bottom of the pan. It helps to drop pieces relatively evenly across the bottom before spreading into an even layer. You can use your hands or a knife to spread the dough as it’s a bit sticky.
5. Par-bake the bottom crust in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, it should puff and start to set but not be cooked through or brown. Remove from the oven,
6. Give the cherry filling a good stir and pour over the top of the bottom crust. Pinch off quarter-size pieces of the remaining dough and drop on top. It won’t cover the cherry filling all the way but will puff and spread while baking.
7. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the cherry filling is bubbling and the edges of the dough are golden. (Test to center with a knife to make sure that it’s not still doughy. If the bars are browning too fast before the center sets you can lightly tent them with foil while they finish baking.) When the bars are done, remove them from the oven and set them aside to cool.
8. For the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon zest and milk until thick and pourable (add milk a little at a time if needed to thin the consistency).
9. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the bars. Serve the bars at room temperature or slightly warm with vanilla ice cream.

Makes a 9×13 pan of bars.

Adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe