Cherry Bars

🥘 Ingredients

• all-purpose flour 188 g
• whole rolled oats 85 g
• brown sugar 100 g
• baking powder 1 tsp
• lemon zest 1 tsp
• salt 0.12 tsp
• melted unsalted butter 142 g
• vanilla 1 tsp
• cornstarch 11 g
• sour cherries 525 g
• granulated sugar 100 g
• lemon juice 1 tsp
• almond extract ¼ tsp
• whole rolled oats 2 Tbsp
• whole milk 2 Tbsp
• confectioners' sugar 120 g
• almond extract ¼ tsp

1. 1

   Tip: You can use dark sweet cherries (fresh or frozen) instead of sour cherries. Reduce the sugar in the filling to 1/3 cup (67 g) and add another 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Still, if I had to choose, I would use sour cherries here.
2. 2

   Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to easily lift the bars out of the pan. Set aside.
3. 3

   Make the crust: Whisk the all-purpose flour , 1 cup (85 g) whole rolled oats , brown sugar , baking powder , lemon zest , and salt together in a medium bowl . Add the melted unsalted butter and vanilla , and stir until the mixture resembles moist crumbly sand and no dry spots remain.
4. 4

   You will have a little more than 3 cups of crust mixture, or about 520 g. Press 2/3 of the mixture (about 2 cups/345 g) into the prepared baking pan. Press it into the pan (with your hands, a large spoon or spatula, or the bottom of a measuring cup) to form a crust. Bake for 10 minutes , and then remove from the oven to slightly cool.
5. 5

   Make the filling: Place the cornstarch in a small bowl and set aside, within reach of the stove. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, combine the sour cherries , granulated sugar , and lemon juice .
6. 6

   Cook, stirring occasionally, until the cherries begin to release their juices, about 4 to 6 minutes . While the cherries continue to cook, carefully remove a couple of spoonfuls of the juice from the saucepan and add to the bowl of cornstarch. Using a fork , mix the cornstarch and cherry juice together until the cornstarch is dissolved. Stir this mixture into the filling, then bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the filling has thickened, about 10 minutes .
7. 7

   Remove from heat and stir in the almond extract .
8. 8

   Pour/spread the filling over the warm crust. Stir 2 Tablespoons whole rolled oats into the remaining crumble mixture, then sprinkle it all over the filling, and lightly press it down with the back of a large spoon or flat spatula.
9. 9

   Bake for about 40 to 50 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick comes out *mostly* clean (with a few jammy cherry specks!). Mine take about 45 minutes.
10. 10

    Remove from the oven and allow the bars to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack . After about 1 hour , you can place the whole pan in the refrigerator to help speed things up.
11. 11

    Make the optional icing: Whisk the icing ingredients together. Add whole milk to confectioners' sugar and almond extract to thin it out, if desired. Drizzle over cooled bars.
12. 12

    Lift the bars out of the pan using the edges of the parchment paper lining and place the whole thing on a cutting board. Slice squares with a sharp knife and, for neat squares, wipe the knife clean between each cut.
13. 13

    Cover and store leftover cherry pie bars (with or without icing) at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.