Cherry Almond Bars

These Cherry Almond Bars have the perfect blend of a sweet buttery almond crust, and tart cherry filling. They’re so easy to make, with just a few ingredients (including canned cherry pie filling) but taste as good as a bakery! Perfect for summer potlucks, or holiday parties!

If you love the combination of cherry and almond (like I do), then these cherry almond bars are a must make! They’re super easy to throw together, with just about 10 minutes of working time, and you’ll have a soft cookie like base, juicy cherry middle, and buttery almond topping.

Every bite is soft, fruity, and so delicious. Basically your new favorite dessert bar!

Why You’ll Love these Bars

• Bursting with Flavor: A buttery cookie dough, cherry filling, and finished with a sweet almond glaze drizzled on top!
• Easy to Make: With mostly ingredients you’ll have in your pantry, these bars only take a few minutes to assemble, then you can go about with some reading, cleaning, or browsing on your phone while they bake.

Ingredients Needed

This is a quick overview of the ingredients you’ll need for this Cherry Almond Bar Recipe. Specific measurements and full recipe instructions are in the printable recipe card below.

• All Purpose Flour – Helps build the structure of the bars.
• Baking Powder – A little to give the crust a nice light texture
• Salt – Salt always balances our the sweetness and richness of desserts as well as elevating the flavors
• Granulated Sugar – Adds a nice sweetness to the cookie base
• Unsalted Butter – I like to use unsalted butter to control the amount of salt in my recipes, if you use salted cut the added salt in half.
• Egg – Helps bind the dough together
• Vanilla Extract – Use pure vanilla extract.
• Almond Extract – Use pure almond extract to bring that delicious almond flavor in every bite!
• Sliced Almonds – Add a nice crunch and extra almond flavor on top of the bars
• Cherry Pie Filling – Grab a can from the store, or make your own.
• Powdered Sugar – To create the almond glaze
• Heavy Cream – Thins out the glaze to get it the right consistency, you can also use milk

How to make Cherry Almond Bars?

Step 1: Make the Cookie Dough. Cream the butter and the sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add in the egg, vanilla, and almond extract and stir them into the dough.

Step 2: Add in the dry Ingredients. Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix it all together until you have a soft dough.

Step 3. Press the Dough. Press 2/3 of the dough into the bottom of a parchment paper lined 8x8inch square pan, into a smooth even layer.

Step 4. Add the Layers. Pour the cherry pie filling over the top of the cookie base. Take the remaining dough and break into portions and drop the dough in dollops on top of the cherry filling. It won’t full cover the cover the filling. Sprinkle the almonds over the top.

Step 5. Bake. Bake the bars until the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

Step 6. Add the Almond Glaze. Whisk the powdered sugar, cream, and almond extract in a small bowl until it is a pourable consistency. Drizzle evenly over the top of the bars. Slice into bars and enjoy.

Tips and Tricks

• Use room temperature Ingredients – both the butter and egg should be brought to room temperature for about 30 minutes before mixing them into the dough to ensure they mix evenly.
• Almond Extract – I love almond extract, but a little goes a long way. You only need about 1 teaspoon in total for this recipe, with the bars and the glaze.
• Try other fruits – Try apple, blueberry, or peach pie filling instead of cherry!

Storage Instructions

Once cooled, the bars can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature. As most baked goods, they are best enjoyed on the first day, as they will soften a bit. They can also be frozen by wrapping them individually in plastic wrap and placing them in a freezer safe bag for up to 1 month. They’ll lose a bit of their crispness, but will still be delicious!