Cherry Bars

This easy Cherry Bar recipe with cherry pie filling and a simple cookie dough is a classic fruity treat for any time of year. 

This is a fantastic dessert recipe. It’s a not too sweet bar cookie that is incredibly easy to make. The cookie batter puffs up around the pie filling during baking for a beautiful almost stained glass look. I was inspired to share this recipe after seeing my friend Bonnie’s beautiful cookies.

Update: I’ve updated this classic cherry pie bar recipe with new tips and photos to help you make this crowd-pleasing dessert. Enjoy!

How to Make Easy Cherry Bars

This is a quick and easy dessert recipe. To make the bars, start by letting the butter and eggs come to room temperature. This ensures even baking. 

Be sure to evenly coat your cake pan with butter, including in the corners and around the sides. The easiest way to do this is to open one end of a stick of butter and hold the stick to wipe it all around the pan.

The batter for this cookie is stiffer than other doughs, but it’s still easily spreadable. An offset spatula works really well to spread it evenly in the prepared pan. If you don’t have one, you can also use a rubber spatula or the back of a large spoon.

Make sure to spread the batter into the corners evenly so they don’t brown before the rest of the cookie is baked.

Filling Homemade Cherry Pie Bars

To ensure that you divide the cherry filling evenly among the bars, I recommend scoring the batter in the cake pan. Use a knife to make shallow lines in the cookie dough sketching out 24 equal squares. These lines will disappear during baking.

Then, spoon the cherry filling into each square. I find it helpful to make sure each square has 2-3 whole cherries as well as the filling. Then, do not push the cherries into the batter, they will sink on their own as the batter bakes.

To serve, let the bars cool to room temperature and sprinkle with powdered sugar before slicing.  

Storing Cherry Bars

Store leftovers in an airtight container on the counter for up to four days. You can also freeze the bars for up to three months. 

More Bar Recipes to Try

If you love easy cherry bars, give these other treats a try next:

• Key Lime Coconut Cashew Bars are zesty, bright and just sweet enough with a creamy, nutting filling. 
• Fall Millionaire Magic Bars have a shortbread crust and decadence from toffee, coconut and M&Ms. 
• White Chocolate Raspberry Bars from That Skinny Chick Can Bake have the perfect balance of fruity and sweet. 

Continue to Content

Print

Yield: 24 Bars

Cherry Pie Bars

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Homemade Cherry Bars made with cherry pie filling and a simple six-ingredient batter are sweet, fruity and loved by kids and adults. 

Ingredients

• 8 ounces butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 can cherry pie filling (I used Lucky Leaf Premium Cherry)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º F. Butter a 17"x12"x1" sheet cake pan.
2. In an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix just until blended. Add the vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour and salt together. Stir the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture just until blended. Spread the batter into the prepared pan.
4. Mark the batter into 24 squares by pressing lightly with a sharp knife. Spoon 1 tablespoon of fruit filling into the center of each square. Do not press the filling into the batter (the batter will puff up around the filling as it bakes).
5. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
6. Cut into bars and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Recommended Products

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• 
  OXO Good Grips 3-Piece Stainless-Steel Mixing Bowl Set, White

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

24

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 197Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 51mgSodium: 166mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 0gSugar: 13gProtein: 2g

Nutrition information is calculated by Nutritionix and may not always be accurate.