Sour Cherry Almond Bars ~ these brown sugar and oatmeal cherry almond bars are officially my new favorite sweet snack! The cherries are nice and tart, the almond scented crumble dough is chewy and butterscotch-y ~ these are a must make!
Gather ’round if you love cherries, especially sour ones…these little sour cherry almond bars are destined to become favorites.
The word ‘crumble’ features in so many of my desserts here on rvfgi. I just love the ease of this kind of recipe, and the way it can play with so many different kinds of fruit fillings. Here the sour cherries mingle nicely with the brown sugar and oats, which in turn make these bars extra chewy. Once cooled they’re easy to eat right out of hand, so even though I photographed them with a fork, you won’t need one.
Because these are so sturdy, they’re ideal for grabbing and going. Think school, work, or travel (once you’ve made these you’ll never be a slave to pricey airport food again.) Lunch boxes, care packages…absolutely. This recipe makes a lot ~ you’ll get 20 decent bars ~ so you’ll still have some leftover for kitchen counter snacking…my favorite kind.
Crumble recipes can be so convenient when you use the same dough for the bottom crust and the crumble topping.
The topping bakes up and spreads just enough over the jammy surface while still allowing those vibrant cherries to peek through. Kinda perfect.
Ingredient spotlight: SOUR CHERRY JAM
You’ll need some sour cherry jam for these bars, and I’m a big fan of Stonewall Kitchen, which is the one I used today. It’s got that extra tang that only sour cherries can give you. And although you could certainly make these bars with regular cherry jam, the flavor won’t be the same. The recipe calls for 12 ounces of jam, and this jar is 12.5 ounces. It was meant to be. Don’t throw away the jar, either, it makes a great salad dressing shaker!
What are sour cherries?
- Sour cherries (or Montmorency) are a variety of cherry that is very tart, and has a very short growing season. Unless you frequent a farmers market, or are part of a CSA, you probably won’t see them in their fresh form.
- Sour cherries are usually sold dried, frozen, or juiced. And of course you can enjoy them in jam and other preserves.
- If you’re lucky enough to live in the right area (California, Michigan or Wisconsin for instance) you might be able to pick your own sour cherries, check for your location in the PICK YOUR OWN farm locator.
- Sour cherries can be in season from June through August, depending on where you live.
Try my SWEET CHERRY ALMOND BARS if you’d like to try this with fresh cherries, and feel free to sub in fresh sour cherries in that recipe if you can source them.
Are you getting the message that I like the combination of cherries and almonds?? I also have this fun RAINIER CHERRY ALMOND TART which makes use of yet another variety of cherry.
Reader Rave ~
“I made this recipe last week for a “girl’s night” and WOW all of us enjoyed them tremendously. Today I went to 3 stores to track down more jam and when I found it I bought THREE jars so that I can make these again and again. So easy, so delicious. Thank you Sue.” ~Deb
*Lightly adapted from Better Homes & Gardens
Ingredients
- 1 cup ( 2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 packed cups brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp almond extract
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 12 ounces sour cherry jam
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F
- Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper with long ends. The parchment is optional, but helps with lifting out the bars for easy cutting later. If you don't line the pan, spray or butter it lightly.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Beat in the egg, baking powder, and almond extract.
- With the mixer on low, beat in the flour, one cup at a time, and then the oats. Finish the mixing by hand with a big spoon, and fold in the almonds.
- Remove 2/3 cup of the dough and set aside for the topping. Then press the rest into the bottom of your pan. I like to crumble it all over the bottom first to distribute it, and then gently press with my fingers. Make sure to get the whole bottom surface covered.
- Top the dough with the jam, spreading it out into an even layer, and then crumble the remaining dough in little pieces over the top.
- Bake for about 35 minutes, just until the topping starts to turn golden.
- Let cool in the pan, on a rack, and then gently lift the bars out with the ends of the parchment paper to cut them into 20 pieces.
Make it your own ~
- I think chopped walnuts would be a good substitute for the almonds.
- Other jams would work, I like apricot, marmalade, or lemon curd. Hint: you can always add a little lemon juice to jam to give it some extra zing.
- Regular rolled oats have the best texture for these sour cherry almond bars, but if you only have quick cooking oats, use them.
Don’t forget to pin these Sour Cherry Almond Bars
46 Comments
Teri
September 15, 2019 at 5:41 amSue l am completely obsessed with these sour cherry almond bars! I live in Canada and found a local fruit/vegetable store that sells sour cherries frozen and already pitted. I have made these bars and taken them in to work and l was told this is the best dessert l have ever brought in! I look so forward to trying your other recipes! Thanks again.
Sue
September 15, 2019 at 10:10 amWhat a great resource you have for sour cherries! Enjoy Teri, and hope you find lots more to try here :)
Ann
September 14, 2019 at 12:28 pmhave you tried this recipe with gluten free flour?
Sue
September 14, 2019 at 1:22 pmI haven’t but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. The texture will be different, but if you eat gluten free you’ll know what to expect.
Teri
July 23, 2019 at 6:49 pmSue, l was given some sour cherries and would like to try these bars but dont have the jam. Can l just use sour cherries instead?
Sue
July 23, 2019 at 8:31 pmYou can, but you’re going to want to briefly cook them down with some sugar and maybe a little liquid to make a jam-like consistency.
Teri Crosmas
July 27, 2019 at 6:42 amIf l have about 2-3 cups of sour cherries do you know how much sugar and liquid (water?) I should add? Thank you for your response!
Sue
July 27, 2019 at 9:26 amPit and give them a rough chop, then just add enough water to get them started cooking and breaking down into a jam. Add sugar to taste. Cook until the mixture is thick, you may want to puree or use an immersion blender to blend to a smoother consistency, then let cool, then chill before using. The jam will thicken further as it chills.
Teri
July 27, 2019 at 8:23 pmThank you! I can’t wait to try these!!
Teri
August 5, 2019 at 10:03 amWell Sue l made my jam and the bars. They are sooo good! This is definately a keeper recipe. Now l will have to wait until sour cherries are in season again. I am from Canada and my boss gave me some and said to do whatever l want with them. Thanks for posting.
Evie
February 18, 2019 at 2:58 pmI am looking for a way to use jars of sourcherries in juice. How do I turn these into sour jam?
Sue
July 27, 2019 at 9:28 amYou’d need to chop and then cook down on the stove until thick Evie. You will probably want to puree or use an immersion blender to blend them up. Sweeten to taste. Cook until they are thick, then cool, then chill overnight.
Mary Conti
March 7, 2018 at 7:13 amI am planning to make these for a dinner party I am hosting on Friday. It is only Wednesday. Will they keep or should I wait to make them?
Sue
March 7, 2018 at 7:45 amI would wait as long as you can, Mary. These will keep, but the texture is so much better fresh. If you want to get a head start you could make the dough ahead, and keep it in a zip lock baggie in the fridge, then assemble and bake later.
Mary Conti
March 7, 2018 at 9:37 amThank you so much! I will do at least t part ahead.
Deb
February 22, 2018 at 3:18 pmI made this recipe last week for a “girl’s night” and WOW all of us enjoyed them tremendously. Today I went to 3 stores to track down more jam and when I found it I bought THREE jars so that I can make these again and again. So easy, so delicious. Thank you Sue.
Sue
February 22, 2018 at 4:00 pmYay!!!
Adrienne
February 14, 2018 at 6:59 pmThis looks great, but I’d love to make it with frozen sour cherries. I hope you will let me know how to alter the recipe.
Sue
February 14, 2018 at 7:37 pmDepending on how sour they are, I would defrost and make a simple jam by cooking them with sugar to taste. Once they have released a little of their juice You may want to add some cornstarch to thicken it. If they aren’t terribly sour you might defrost them and use them whole.
Liz
February 12, 2018 at 5:50 amJust wondering, can I use less brown sugar and will it still work on the crumb? I have cut back on sugar in my diet and now everything tastes too sweet ! What is the least amount that can be used? This dessert looks so tempting !
Sue
February 12, 2018 at 7:39 amI haven’t tried, Liz, great question. I assume you can reduce the sugar, and I would try for cutting it in half.
Laura | Tutti Dolci
February 11, 2018 at 2:17 pmThere’s nothing I love more than a good crumb bar – these look incredible!
Debra Jean
February 9, 2018 at 5:27 amI try to stay away from using white flour when possible in recipes. Would almond meal work with this recipe and then eliminate the almond extract?
Thanks.
JoAnn Marek
February 7, 2018 at 3:09 pmJust finished making these bars. I couldn’t find sour cherries at the grocery store probably because I live in Canada. I had a jar of lemon curd in my pantry so I decided to give it a try. Other than changing to lemon curd, I also put in half a cup of coconut instead of the almonds. I did this only because my husband’s favorite deserts contain lemon and coconut. I made no other changes except decreased cooking time to 30 minutes. This recipe was so good with a nice sweet/tart taste. Will keep looking for the sour cherries!
Sue
February 7, 2018 at 3:20 pmLove this combination JoAnn, those are two of my favorite flavors but for some reason I’ve never combined them on the blog, thanks for the inspiration!
Heidi Quinlivan
July 4, 2019 at 4:22 pmHi I just made from jam I made from my own sour cherry tree. Just awesome ! Thank you.
Jmo
July 29, 2019 at 10:56 pmHi! I live in Canada too, near Regina. Just finished picking 5 ice cream pails of sour cherries at a friend’s house! I have never seen them in the grocery store though, but they are grown in areas of BC. Can’t wait to make jam and try these bars.
Candace
February 6, 2018 at 3:17 pmI made these this morning, Sue. I happened to have Mr. Squash’s favorite Black Cherry preserves, so I used that and substituted Vanilla for Almond Extract and walnuts for almonds. It’s wonderful! As usual, another terrific dessert! I’ll be making it again – especially when the sour cherries come into the valley here!
Cheers!
Sue
February 6, 2018 at 3:21 pmLove this Candace ~ I forgot how much I love black cherries :)
Traci | Vanilla And Bean
February 6, 2018 at 6:20 amOh my goodness Sue! I loooove SK sour cherry jam! What a delicious way to enjoy it too.. I mean oats, brown sugar and butter? Hello! Deliciously captured too!
Terrie
February 5, 2018 at 7:15 pmTheses bars look great. My question is can you freeze these?
Sue
February 5, 2018 at 8:41 pmThese would freeze beautifully ~ just wrap them nice and airtight.
Lynne
February 5, 2018 at 1:34 pmHi Sue, A new recipe is one of the best ways to start a week! I didn’t have sour cherry jam but did have a jar of red currant jelly I had put up last summer. Not quite the same but I thought that the tang of the red currant would at least be similar to the sour cherry. It worked beautifully and the bars look so pretty. Though I love the almond flavor, I think next time I might cut it back so that the oatmeal comes through a bit stronger. I used a good brand (I live in Europe so McCormicks is really hard to find) and it’s possible that it’s more concentrated as I’ve noticed this also with the vanilla flavorings here.
The bottom line though is that the bars are gorgeous and the recipe is a keeper. Thank you so much for posting this!
Sue
February 5, 2018 at 1:43 pmYou’re so welcome, Lynne, and I bet your homemade currant jelly was delish.
Albert Bevia
February 5, 2018 at 1:06 pmI can see why these are your new favorite snack! the sound and look so delicious! plus I love anything with almonds in it, thank you for the recipe :)
Angie@Angie's Recipes
February 5, 2018 at 11:17 amWe adore anything with crumble or streusel! This looks incredibly delicious and beautiful as well.
Abbe@This is How I Cook
February 5, 2018 at 11:10 amI buy sour cherries every year at the farmer’s market. It’s time to get some out of the freezer! Thanks Sue!
Sue
February 6, 2018 at 7:48 amI’m going to have to look for them this year :)
Debs
February 5, 2018 at 9:45 amLove these bars Sue. I’m also a HUGE fan of a crumble anything! I love the way they go chunky and crumbly with that hit of buttery brown sugar. And with that sour cherry here… divine! Pinned.
Brenda Whiting
February 5, 2018 at 8:37 amTwo tsp. of almond extract sounds like a LOT! It’s so strong! Are you sure?
Sue
February 5, 2018 at 9:07 amIt is a lot compared to most recipes, but I love the flavor. Feel free to reduce, but I don’t find it overpowering!
Sue
February 5, 2018 at 9:24 amI should also say, use a good quality, mine was McCormick, I can imagine an inferior quality extract might be overpowering.
Karen @ Seasonal Cravings
February 5, 2018 at 8:09 amI love using cherries in baking. These would be perfect to bake for a loved one for the big V Day or for after school snacks for my kiddos!
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers
February 5, 2018 at 5:22 amAbsolutely beautiful, Sue and I love the idea of using a great jam for these. Perfect!
Chris Scheuer
February 5, 2018 at 4:27 amWow, I’m a huge cherry fan and these bars look amazing! Cherries and almond are a match made in heaven!
Tricia @ Saving Room for Dessert
February 5, 2018 at 3:51 amThese are just wonderful Sue – love the almond combination with sour cherries. I’m a big fan of Stonewall Kitchen and always have something from their long line of delicious jars in my refrigerator. Try their country ketchup sometime – wow! These are wonderful bars, so pretty and no doubt delicious – you’re right … a must try recipe!