Cherry Pie Bars

Indulge in the flavors of summer with this easy recipe for Cherry Pie Bars! This delicious cherry crumb bars are reminiscent of cherry pie but are so much faster to make!

If you’re looking for more fruity bar recipes, check out some of my other favorites like Chicken Sourdough Blueberry Crumb Bars, Vegan Blueberry Bars With Frosting, or Strawberry Olive Oil Blondies.

A Quick Look At The Recipe

• Recipe Name: Cherry Pie Bars
• Ready In: 55 minutes
• Makes: 8 bars
• Main Ingredients: salted butter, dark brown sugar, all purpose flour, cherry jam
• Flavor Profile: buttery crust, sweet cherry filling, crumbly brown sugar streusel, with a sweet glaze
• Dietary Info: eggless, no seed oils
• Difficulty: Easy!
• Why You’ll Love It: tastes like a handheld cherry streusel pie!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Eggless: These crumb-topped cherry pie bars a naturally eggless recipe! This is a great recipe to make when you run out of eggs or if you have an eggs allergy.
• Cherry Jam: I use organic cherry jam in these easy Cherry Pie Bars, making them incredibly accessible to make all year around, even if you don’t have fresh cherries. I use a Morello cherry jam, which is a kind of sour cherries. This gives these dessert bars that sweet-tart cherry pie filling.
• Make Ahead: These cherry crumb bars are a great recipe to make ahead of time! Because the glaze is best when it sets up, I love making these the night before I plan to enjoy them.
• Quick Comfort: These easy homemade cherry pie bars are a quick comfort dessert. No messing around with pie crust, even though these will remind you of cherry pie, but with much less effort!
• Flexible: While I'm using cherry jam, you can use another flavor too. I also cut these into triangles (to resemble a slice of cherry pie). But, if you want to use a square pan and cut them into easy cherry squares, you can do that too! These easy cherry bars are super flexible!

These Cherry Pie Bars remind me of cherry pie, but with way less effort! It's one reason these cherry pie crumb bars are something I make all the time! If you like the Chocolate Strawberry Crumb Bars, you'll love this cherry pie bars recipe too! These are perfect for bringing to a summer BBQ when you don't want to bake (or bring a whole pie and needing to get your dish back!).

If you're looking for more summer BBQ dessert ideas, check out some of my other favorite easy and portable recipes like Chocolate Caramel S’More Bars, Simple Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes, Healthy Homemade Cherry Frozen Yogurt, Blueberry Slab Pie Without Eggs, Peach Crumble Pie, or Eggless Mini Apricot Pies.

Ingredients

• Butter: I use organic salted butter, but unsalted butter works too, you'll just want to add a little over 1/4 teaspoon to the dough.
• Dark Brown Sugar: Organic dark brown sugar gives these bars a great rich flavor. I like to make my own Homemade Dark Brown Sugar, but store bought is also fine.
• Flour: I use organic all purpose flour, Cairnspring Mills is my fave!
• Cherry Jam: I use store bought organic cherry jam for ease, but if you have homemade that's even better! You can also use another kind of jam if you prefer and don't want cherry flavor. I have made these with raspberry, strawberry, apricot, and blueberry pie fillings too, they're all delicious!
• Cornstarch: I use organic cornstarch to thicken the filling as this helps solidify the jam. This prevents it from making the crust soggy and it stays in tact when the bars are cut.

*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.

Baker’s Tips

• Always weigh ingredients for the best results.
• I use vanilla extract, but almond extracts also work here if you prefer.
• You can use any kind of jam for this recipe. Try it with Homemade Blueberry Preserves (No Pectin), Organic Strawberry Jam With Fresh or Frozen Berries, Small Batch Organic Apricot Jam Without Pectin, blackberry or any other jam you like.
• The glaze is optional, though I think it’s completely necessary! But if you want a less sweet bar then you can leave it off.
• Make sure to store these in a cool, dry place. I like to leave them out on a plater on the counter for a few days while we eat them.
• High Altitude — Bake the crust at 350°F for 15 minutes. Fill and add topping per the instructions, then bake again for 25 to 28 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and dry.

How to Make Cherry Pie Bars

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch cake pan with parchment paper. To make the crust and topping: In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, cane sugar, and dark brown sugar. Next add the melted butter, and vanilla extract.

2. Mix together using a spatula.

3. Continue to mix until you have a crumbly dough.

4. Reserve ½ cup of the crust for the topping and set aside.

5. Add the remaining crust into the prepared cake pan and spread out evenly with your hands. Bake for 17 minutes. (If you’re baking at high altitude be sure to check the Notes at the bottom of the recipe for high altitude baking instructions).

6. To make the filling: In a small bowl, add the cherry jam and cornstarch and mix together.

7. Remove the crust from the oven and add the jam and spread evenly.

8. Crumble the reserved topping on top of the jam and return to the oven.

9. Bake again for 27 to 30 minutes or until the topping looks dry and golden brown. Allow to cool completely in the cake pan. (If you’re baking at high altitude be sure to check the Notes at the bottom of the recipe for high altitude baking instructions).

10. Remove the bars from the cake pan.

11. To make the glaze: In a small mixing bowl, add the powdered sugar and water and whisk together. Drizzle over the top of the bars.

12. Allow to cool completely, then cut into 8 bars.

Cherry Pie Bars FAQ’s

More Cherry Recipes

Healthy Homemade Cherry Frozen Yogurt

Cherry Cake With Whipped Cream Frosting

Cherry Chocolate Chip Pie

Chocolate Cherry Whipped Cream Cake