Sweet Cherry Almond Bars

Sweet Cherry Almond Bars are one of the many ways I’m celebrating #cherryseason this year—  my buttery almond shortbread crust shows off juicy fresh cherries to perfection.

*This post is in association with The Washington State Fruit Commission.  The Commission oversees more than 2,500 growers in the Northwest providing us with the highest quality stone fruit.  Thanks for supporting me and the brands I  work with, I only bring you the best of the best!

I know, I know, first you’ll want to eat as many cherries as possible right out of hand…I get it.  But after you’ve done that, try these, they’re fantastic.   This is the first of many things I’ll make with my windfall of Northwest Cherries from Washington State.  I’ve been a part of the Canbasador program for a couple of years now, helping to get the word out about Washington State stone fruit and ways to enjoy it.  It’s like Christmas morning when my annual shipment of fruit arrives.  This year I’m sharing their gorgeous (and ginormous!) sweet cherries.

I’m on a major almond kick after yesterday’s Toasted Almond Milkshake, and luckily cherries and almonds are best buds.  Just like in my milkshake, I’ve added layers of almond flavor throughout this easy recipe.  The shortbread dough comes together quickly in the food processor, and then part of it forms the bottom crust, and the rest gets crumbled on top of the cherries.

My first bite of one of these Sweet Cherry Almond Bars reminded me that the only way you can get this fresh cherry flavor in baking is to use fresh cherries.  Frozen fruit or cherries from cans or jars just isn’t going to cut it.  And if you avoid cooking with fresh cherries because of the pitting issue, buy yourself a cherry pitter, it took me only a few minutes to pit the cherries for these bars.  You can find these inexpensive gadgets on Amazon, here.   I love how they shoot the pits out cleanly and quickly, it’s fun!

Recipe adapted from Just So Tasty

notes:

• These are delicious for breakfast, so I keep the leftovers loosely covered on the counter overnight.
• If you don’t like almond extract, use vanilla extract instead.
• You can make your own almond meal by grinding whole almonds in a food processor.

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