Cherry Pie Crumble Bars

These cherry pie crumble bars have a soft, tender pie-like crust and crumble top, and are filled with a perfectly sweet homemade cherry pie filling. They will definitely become one of your favorite summertime recipes!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR CHERRY PIE FILLING

To start this recipe, start by making the filling. This filling is so good-- it's basically a cherry jam. It will be hard, but you will have to TRY to resist the urge to eat it straight out of the pan with a spoon! For the filling, you will only need 5 ingredients! Here's your shopping list:

• Cherries

• Granulated sugar

• Cornstarch

• Lemon juice

• Cinnamon


MAKING THE CHERRY FILLING

Not only does this cherry filling call for just five ingredients, it's also so simple to make! To begin, combine all of the filling ingredients into a pan. Cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring every few minutes. The cherries will cook down and the mixture will become a delicious, thick jam-like consistency. Once finished cooking, turn off heat, and allow it to cool for about 20 minutes. While it cools, start making the crust.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THE CRUST AND CRUMBLE

This crust and crumble dough is a cross between traditional pie crust, and a soft cookie. The cold butter and water help make it slightly flaky, and the egg and baking powder help give it some body and rise. Overall, it's a super tender, light crust. For this crust and crumb topping, here’s what you’ll need:

• All-purpose flour

• Baking powder

• Salt

• Granulated sugar

• Cinnamon

• Unsalted butter

• Egg

• Cold water

MAKING THE CRUST AND CRUMBLE TOPPING

In a large bowl, mix together the all-purpose flour, salt, and granulated sugar. Add in the cold cubed butter and the egg. Using a pastry cutter or your hands, work the butter into the flour mixture. Continue doing so until the butter chunks are roughly pea-size pieces and all of the egg is combined; the dough resembles very coarse sand. The mixture will be a bit dry, so begin adding in the cold water a teaspoon at a time, mixing after each one. Don't add more water than called for in the recipe. The final dough will still appear crumbly, but should hold it's shape when handling it.

ASSEMBLING THE BARS

Press ⅔ of the dough mixture into the bottom of an 8x8 pan lined with parchment paper. Press the dough into an even layer. Next, spoon the cherry mixture on top of the bottom crust layer. Spread evenly. Lastly, using your hands, break up and spread the remaining ⅓ of the dough mixture and all over the top of the blueberry layer, creating the "crumble" topping.

Now, just pop the bars into a 375°F preheated oven and bake for 38-40 minutes. When done baking, the crumble top should just be turning a light golden brown color. Allow bars to cool completely before cutting into slices.

TIPS FOR THE BEST CHERRY PIE CRUMBLE BARS

Make sure your butter is cold. Similar to pie dough, you want your butter to be very cold.  When you use a pastry cutter to “cut” the butter into the flour mixture, the butter will break down into smaller, pea-sized pieces-- that’s what you want!  As it bakes, those small pieces of cold butter will heat up and create air pockets in the crust. I like to cut my butter into cubes, then stick it in the freezer for a few minutes until I'm ready to incorporate it into the dough.

You can make the filling in advance. Whether you have cherries that are going to go bad, or you want to get a head start on making these, the filling can be made a day or two in advance. Simply cool it completely, and store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container until ready to use.

You can use fresh or frozen cherries. I typically use fresh berries, but you most definitely can either fresh or frozen cherries for these bars. There will be no flavor difference to doing so.

If you give this recipe a try and love it, be sure to leave a comment and star rating! Be sure to tag @thehungrykitchenblog on Instagram so I can see all of your delicious bakes! Happy baking! ♥