Cherry Pie Bars

Why you'll love these cherry pie bars

• Simple, Buttery Shortcrust Pastry: Shortcrust pastry, or pâte sucrée, is a French sweet pastry that has a buttery, cookie-like texture, making it the perfect vessel for summer fruit desserts. It's made with a very simple method using just 6 ingredients.
• Simple Fresh Cherry Filling: Sweet cherries are the star of the show! All they need is a little sugar, salt, cornstarch, and vanilla to turn them into an extra special pie filling. Sour cherries (aka tart cherries) would also work well in this recipe!
• Oatmeal Cookie-Like Crumble: The magic of combining brown sugar, butter, and oats is something we should never take for granted. And when paired with a jammy fruit filling?! It tastes equally as comforting & nostalgic as it does gourmet & unique.

Ingredient Notes

• Flour: Use high quality unbleached all-purpose flour for best flavor and overall result.
• Powdered Sugar: Powdered sugar gives the shortcrust pastry a tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture.
• Butter: I highly recommend European-style butter, as it has a higher fat percentage and less water content than American-style butter. I use Kerrygold!
• Eggs: One egg yolk is used in the shortcrust pastry to bind it together, add richness, and give it a tender texture. 
• Cherries: I recommend using fresh cherries for this recipe, but you can also use frozen or canned cherries. If you do use fresh cherries, be sure to get a cherry pitter!
• Cornstarch: A few tablespoons of cornstarch helps to thicken up the cherry pie filling.
• Vanilla Extract: Cherries and vanilla are a match made in heaven, so don't skimp on the good quality extract! One teaspoon almond extract would also be a great addition!
• Oats: Use old fashioned rolled oats for the best crumble texture!

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.

Step by Step Instructions

Here are step by step photos and instructions on how to make this cherry pie bar recipe! For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.

STEP 1: Make the shortcrust pastry. In a medium bowl combine the flour, powdered sugar, and salt. Cut the cold butter into cubes and toss in the flour. Using your fingers, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until pea sized pieces are left. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and milk. Add to the dough, and use a rubber spatula to mix until cohesive dough forms.

Add the dough to the prepared baking dish and use another piece of parchment paper to press it into an even layer. Use the back of a spoon or small measuring cup to pack it in and level it out. Place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes. Dock the chilled dough with the tines of a fork. Bake the shortcrust pastry for about 18-20 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden and the center no longer looks doughy. Set aside to cool completely.

STEP 2: Make the homemade cherry pie filling. In a medium pot, combine the fresh quartered cherries, sugars, and salt. Place over medium heat, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes or until the cherries start to soften and release their juices. Add the cornstarch and cook for another 10 minutes until the cherries have softened and the juices have thickened. Remove the pot from heat and stir in the vanilla.

Spread the cherry filling out onto a small baking sheet and place in the fridge for a few minutes to cool. Alternatively, pour the cherry filling into an airtight container and chill in the fridge overnight.

STEP 3: Make the brown sugar oat crumble. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, and salt. Add the cubed butter and toss to coat. Rub the mixture between your fingers until it resembles wet sand and there are no visible pieces of butter left. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge until ready to use.

STEP 4: Assemble and bake. Pour the chilled cherry filling onto the cooled shortcrust pastry, and smooth it out with an offset spatula. Sprinkle the oat crumble on top, then bake for 35-45 minutes until golden brown. Allow the cherry pie bars to cool completely before cutting into 16 squares.

Expert Baking Tips

• Par-bake the shortcrust pastry. No one wants a soggy bottom! To ensure your bars bake up with an evenly baked, golden crust, it's baked partially through for about 18-20 minutes. Once cool, then the tart is assembled and baked slowly at a low temperature.
• Chill all elements before assembling and baking. Once you've baked the shortcrust pastry, cooked the cherry pie filling, and made the crumble topping, be sure to chill of them before assembling and baking.

All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale. 

If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.

But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!

Happy baking! x