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!
Reader Rave ~
“Just have to tell you, I own a home-baking business, with a stall at a local Farmers market here in Vancouver. I made your Cherry Almond bars to sell at last week’s market, and were they ever a hit! Completely sold out, and people were looking for them again this week. I think they will become part of our regular rotation for sure!” ~ Liz
Recipe adapted from Just So Tasty
Sweet Cherry Almond Bars
Ingredients
fruit filling
- 14 ounces pitted sweet cherries, halved or rough chopped (about 2 1/2 cups)
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
shortbread dough
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 cup almond flour, or almond meal
- 1/2 cup sugar
- pinch salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1/2 cup (4 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut in pieces
topping
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds
Instructions
- Set oven to 350°F.
- Lightly spray an 8x8 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Stir together the cherries with the sugar, lemon juice, extract, and cornstarch. Set aside, tossing occasionally to encourage some of the juices to start flowing.
- Put the flour, almond meal, sugar, salt, and baking powder into the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine.
- Add the yolk, extract, and butter, and pulse or process to combine just until the dough comes together, it will be crumbly.
- Press 2/3 of the dough into the bottom of your pan to form the crust. Top with the cherries. Then crumble the remaining dough evenly over the cherries. Top with the sliced almonds and bake for about 40 minutes until the dough is just golden and the filling is bubbling.
- Let cool before cutting.
Nutrition
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.
don’t forget to pin it!
Wondering if I can use frozen, thawed cherries. Cherries are in season now, but would be great to be able to make these year-round!
You could definitely do that, Renee, and I think you could also use a good cherry preserve, too.
Did you try them with frozen cherries?
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I made these tonight and they were just perfect. I happened to have all of the ingredients on hand as cherries are on sale this week! This was just delicious. I loooooove almonds and cherries as well. It was the perfect combination of the two. A perfect summer fruit recipe. Thanks again!
You’re so welcome Tam, I’ve made so many crumble bars like this that I had a pretty good idea they’d be delicious, but the fresh cherries mixed with the almond really puts it over the top for me. Thanks for coming back to let us know they worked for you 🙂
I am wondering if these can be frozen . . . I would like to make them now while the cherries are available for a party next month
Any idea if you can freeze these . . . I would like to make some now for a party next month
They should freeze fine, Donna. Wrap them well!
The cherries are so good right now, love this recipe. Pinned!!!
I wish someone who actually made these would comment!!!!!!
I’ve made it Jane — and it’s fabulous!! 😉
Love that bright color, the textures and flavors!
Thanks Katherine!
I LOVE everything about these bars. What a perfect dessert for any occasion and sweet cherries are always a great idea. Pinning and sharing~!
Oh my goodness, how perfectly delicious are these?! Everyone in my family craves cherries so these will be a big hit and I’ll be sharing the recipe with lots of cousins too. The anticipation! lol
I love cherries! I would enjoy these bars so much!