Remember when I told you my grandma baked the best peach pie? Turns out my other grandma is pretty good with pies too! If I stared at a Marie Callendar’s commercial or even whispered that it sounded good, Grandma would mix up her specialty, apple pie, the same day. Just for me. Sometimes she used two crusts, sometimes a lattice top, sometimes nothing at all, but the filling was always my favorite. Apples and cinnamon make me swoon!
During middle school, we invited Grandma over for one of our weekly summer BBQs. She insisted on bring something, and since Mom had already bought baked beans, hamburger meat, and fresh corn, we told Grandma to bring dessert. Which could only mean one thing…
Apple pie!
A few hours before dinner, Grandma began feeling funny. She called Dad, telling him she couldn’t come because of a cold, but would he please drive over and pick up the dessert she made so Amy wouldn’t have to go without?
Forced to stay at home so her germs wouldn’t spread, I chased my dog around the backyard while waiting, too excited to sit still. When Daddy pulled into the garage, I raced over to lift the red checkered cloth off of the wicker basket and peek at the pie underneath.
Cherry.
Too sick to go to the store for apples, Grandma had dug up a frozen pie crust, dumped in a jar of cherry filling (but no sugar or spices!), and popped it in the oven for an hour. Still, I cut a slice after I finished my burger and tried a bite. I then set down my fork, gave Grandma a polite “thank you” on the phone, and served myself a big bowl of ice cream instead. (My parents and brother did the same… It was just so bland!)
And that has been my one and only cherry pie experience. A little too scarring, it prevented me from ever ordering a piece at restaurants, trying a slice at friends’ summer potlucks, or even baking my own. (My other excuse is that I don’t own a cherry pitter!)
But last week, I found myself with a few too many cherries in my fridge, and I decided to take a baby step. Still scared of making a pie, I chose a cherry crumble. With a cookie crust. Because, well, that’s sort of similar, right?
I don’t know that I’ll ever bake a cherry pie… These cherry crumble bars are just that good! The cherries pair perfectly with a splash of almond extract, the buttery crumble topping melts in your mouth, and the soft cookie crust ties it all together. It’s impossible to stop after just one bar — trust me, I tried three different times! 😉
And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy cherry crumble bars!
Healthy Cherry Crumble Bars
Ingredients
for the filling
- 2 cups (290g) fresh sweet red cherries, pitted and quartered (measure after slicing!)
- 1 tsp coconut sugar (or light brown sugar)
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- ½ tsp almond extract
for the crust
- 1 cup (120g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled (or stick-style vegan butter)
- ¼ cup (62g) unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup (96g) coconut sugar (or light brown sugar)
- ¼ tsp almond extract
for the topping
- ¼ cup (25g) old-fashioned oats (measured like this)
- 2 tbsp (15g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 2 tbsp (24g) coconut sugar (or light brown sugar)
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter, chilled (or stick-style vegan butter)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°, and lightly coat an 8”-square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- To prepare the filling, combine the cherries, sugar, cornstarch, and almond extract in a large bowl, stirring well to evenly coat the cherries with the other ingredients. Set aside.
- To prepare the crust, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl stir together the butter and applesauce. Mix in the brown sugar and almond extract. Pour in the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan. Evenly spread the cherry filling on top of the crust.
- To prepare the topping, combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in the butter using the back of a fork or two knives until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the cherry filling. Bake at 350° for 33-36 minutes, or until the cherry filling is hot and the crust appears baked through. Set on a wire rack to cool to room temperature, and let the bars sit at room temperature for at least 1-2 hours before slicing into squares.
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
I’ve tried this several time and I just wanted to let you know that it tastes extremely delicious! Thank you so (x100) much for sharing this recipe with us! ^^
Thank you so much Christie!! I’m really happy that you enjoy these bars, and I appreciate you taking the time to tell me. It’s incredibly rewarding to hear when people bake and like my recipes! 🙂
Hi Amy,
Thank you for this great recipe, I’ve made it 6 times already (in about 2 months), funny enough never with cherries (that will come soon).
Until now I used red currants, black currants, rhabarber, goosberries, raspberries and blueberries. Everybody loves it, especially my 5 year old son.
The only thing I notice, now that I see your pictures again, my cake is completely flat, yours seems to rise a bit more. I wonder why mine doesn’t. I use less sugar, about half of it, could that be the reason?
Adina
I’m so happy you enjoyed the bars Adina, and all of your other fruit choices sound incredible. I really want to try the raspberries and blueberries! And yes, if you use half of the sugar, the bars won’t rise as much. There will be much less volume in the cookie dough crust, which means it’ll be thinner. Hopefully that helps!
Could you use the red pitted cherries out of a can and drain the juice. Then cut the cherries into quarters?
That would work just fine Shirley! I hope you enjoy the bars!
Do these freeze ok?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Franca! I haven’t had the best luck with freezing these, but they should keep for at least a week if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try making them!
Can I use frozen cherries?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Barbara! I haven’t tried using frozen and thawed cherries, so I’m not personally sure. However, I have a feeling that if you thaw them, drain them, and thoroughly pat them dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture from thawing, they just might work! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of these cherry crumble bars if you end up making them!
I was wondering if frozen cherries can be substituted for fresh? Definitely going to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Vickie! I haven’t tried using frozen and thawed cherries, so I’m not personally sure. However, I have a feeling that if you thaw them, drain them, and thoroughly pat them dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture from thawing, they just might work! 🙂 I’m really looking forward to hearing what you think of these cherry crumble bars!
These look absolutely delicious! I followed the recipe to a T, measured in g using a scale, and stayed with the coconut sugar as well. That said, my crust is very dark compared to yours, even before baking. Thoughts?
It means so much that you tried my recipe, Wendi! If it’s only the color of your crust (not the texture!), then that’s just because of the coconut sugar. I used light brown sugar in the batch in these photos (I didn’t have any coconut sugar on hand the day I planned to photograph them!), which is much paler in color compared to coconut sugar. I used coconut sugar to make these cookie bars, so if those have a similar color as your crust, then you did absolutely nothing wrong! 🙂
I really hope you enjoy these crumble bars!
Mine didn’t come out quite as think as yours (probably due to the pan size, I had to stretch out the crust) but THE FLAVOR. I SWEAR MY KNEES BUCKLED. Chewey perfection! Very rich and sweet. (I put a little vanilla ice cream on it) For anyone reading you probably only eat 1 at a time because they are sweet and rich. But warning: IT’S TOUGH TO EAT ONLY 1! LOL Thank you Amy! I subscribed. Wonderful recipe. I look forward to many more. xo Alex
I’m so glad you enjoyed these bars, Alex! That’s the highest praise there is, if you thought it was tough to stop at one and you’d rate the recipe so highly. I’m truly honored — thank you SO much for taking the time to share!! 🙂
A quick tip regarding the pan size… When you measure your square pan, measure it across the top edge, not the bottom! A lot of square pans have slightly sloped sides (to make them easier for stacking!), which means the top and bottom edges aren’t always the exact same length. The pan size (ie 8″-square, for this recipe!) refers to the length across the top edge. So if your pan was 9″ across the top edge but closer to 8″ across the bottom, then it’s actually a 9″-square pan. Does that make sense? 🙂
I was just reading through and want to make sure it’s an 8×8 pan and 16 servings. Is that right?
It looks so goo!! Thank you for sharing!!
I’m so happy you are excited about these cherry crumble bars, Mike! Yes, an 8×8 square pan and it will yield 16 servings! We’d love to hear what you think if you try this recipe! 🙂