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Cherry pie in the best form possible: cherry pie bars! You can whip up a whole pan of these bars in minutes using cherry pie filling. They’re pretty, easy to make, and always a hit to serve!
Here are some more fruity desserts berry cheesecake salad, or strawberry pie.
Cherry Pie Bars
My favorite pie is cherry pie; I’ve never loved pumpkin pie, so cherry pie is my top choice for the holidays.
And these cherry pies have everything I love about cherry pie but in an easier bar form! It’s like biting into cherry pie AND cookies. These bars are incredible — they’re soft, chewy, flavorful, and the glaze on top is the perfect finishing touch. Serve these with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream for the ultimate dessert!
How do you make Cherry Pie Bars?
- Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat well. Beat in extracts.
- In a separate bowl combine flour and salt. Add to the creamed mixture. Mix until combined.
- Grease a 15x10x1 pan and spread 3 cups batter. Spread pie filling on top. Drop remaining batter on top of pie filling.
- Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes clean. Cool on wire rack. Combine glaze ingredients and drizzle over the bars.
Cherry Pie Bars Tips
- Use the right temperature of ingredients: when at room temperature, eggs and butter form an emulsion which traps air. While baking in the oven, that trapped air expands and produces a fluffy baked good. If possible, use room temperature eggs for this recipe. Soaking refrigerated eggs in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for about 5-10 minutes is a quick way to get eggs to room temperature.
- Measure carefully: the most important measurement is the flour. If you press a measuring cup into a bag of flour you are likely packing in way too much flour which will yield less flavorful bars
- Grease the pan: this will ensure your cherry pie bars come out nice and easily!
Can I use any pie filling?
What pan should I use?
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Cherry Pie Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 21 ounce cherry pie filling
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 2 Tbs milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray pan spray on a 15x10x1 pan and set aside.
- Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat well. Beat in extracts.
- In a separate bowl combine the flour and salt. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture. Mix until combined.
- Spread 3 cups of batter on the bottom of the prepared pan. Top with the cans of cherry pie filling, spreading evenly across the batter. Drop dollops of the remaining batter as evenly as you can over the top until all the batter has been used.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes clean. If using a 9x13 pan instead, the cook time may end up being quite a bit longer to get a toothpick to come out clean. Cool completely.
- Whisk together the glaze ingredients and drizzle over the cooled bars.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
you probably could use one can of cherry and one can of something else and be good
Love cherry pie. This would be great for company.
Could we use almond flour & sweeteners for us diabetics? Would it change the cooking time?
You could try that! It shouldn’t change the cooking time but I would keep an eye on it since all ovens cook diffrently. Let me know how it turns out!
Turned out great! I added a lemon because I love lemon, especially with cherry. Put the zest in the dough and the juice in the pie filling. I also mixed some lemon curd with the pie filling. Left the almond extract out of glaze and added more vanilla. (I like almond extract, but I like being able to taste the vanilla too.) Added some sliced almonds on top too. Awesome dessert, and easily shareable. Original recipe sounds great as is, but I’m glad I added some changes for my personal taste.
Oooh, the lemon sounds delightful! I’m going to have to try that!
Can this recipe be adapted for a gluten free diet ?
I haven’t tried adapting this to make it gluten-free but if you do, let me know how it turns out!
Can we use puree fruit instead of canned fruit, will it affect the firmness of the bars or how they bake?
I would think that would work fine but I haven’t tried it that way before! Let me know if you do and how it turns out!
Would it negatively affect it if I sprinkled some brown sugar & cinnamon on the cherry filling before adding the top layer? I use this in my cobbler and love the extra flavor.
No, that sounds delicious! Let me know how it turns out!
Can you make these bars up a few days before having to serve? If yes, how should the bars be stored until serving?
Yes! Slice them up and store them in an airtight container in your fridge. They will last 3-4 days.
Just took these out of the oven. Waiting for them to cool so I can add the glaze. The toothpick never did come out clean because of all the cherry juice. I baked until the batter on top started to turn brown which was exactly 35 minutes in a jelly roll pan. Looking forward to tomorrow’s dessert! PS: Saw this on Facebook and pinned and shared the recipe.
Thanks so much for sharing! This is a favorite recipe of mine so I love when people love it enough to pass it along and let everyone else know about it too!
I only have a 12 x9 pan will that work for this? Should I put less batter in pan?
A 9×12 pan will work but you may need to add a little bit of baking time since the batter is thicker! Let me know how they turn out!
If you add more baking time, you may want to turn the temp down 25 degrees.
Hi I am wandering if we can freeze these bars ?
Yes! Slice them up and put them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Do a quick freeze for about an hour. Then, transfer them onto an airtight freezer container (you can stack them). They can store for about 3-6 months. When you are ready to eat the cherry pie bars, let them thaw on your counter for a few hours until they are no longer frozen.
If adding blueberry or cherry pie filling should we add sugar or anything else ? And do we bake the bottom crust first then add fruit ?
No need to add any sugar to the pie filling. You cook everything all at once. The recipe card at the bottom of the post has all of the exact instructions! 🙂
My grandmother used to make these when I was growing up. She’s been gone for a few decades now and it’s still a family favorite. I would recommend this to anyone who loves, what seems now, the ancient idea of a coffee cake. Grandma loved her coffee cake and now this grandma loves them, too. They are a family tradition, the roots that keep us together!
Aw, that’s so sweet! Thank you for sharing!
Hi ! I was wondering if instead of pie filling, not a fan, if you think I could use jam or preserves ? We are a raspberry family ☺️
Ooh, I love raspberries too! The only problem with using jam or preserves is that they have a lot of extra moisture in them. You can use them but I would make a double-crust pie crust!
Could you use stewed fruit instead of pie filling?
I would think that would work but I haven’t tried it before. Let me know how it turns out!
Dear Alyssa, I made your Cherry Pie Bars last night. I followed your instructions and your hints. I was not prepared for the EXTREME thickness and stickiness of this dough. I almost switched to my dough hook. I tried them out for breakfast and I will say, they had a great flavor but the batter turned out to be quite dense and I had no way of knowing whether or not you intended that as an outcome. I came to the site this morning hoping to see a video of your making the bars, hoping to see how it should be. Again, great taste but I don’t know if I am willing to handle that thick, thick sticky dough again. Perhaps you have some suggestions. Thanks. Elizabeth Morrison, Pueblo, Colorado
I’m glad that you liked the taste of them! The dough is supposed to be a bit dense but it shouldn’t be that sticky! I’m so sorry about that! What kind of flour did you use?
I used regular ole’ all purpose flour. I am at 4700ft, but I think that should only play into how they bake. Whatever.. I am certainly not Betty Crocker. Thanks for taking the time to reply. They were yummie, for sure. Elizabeth
I’m glad that they still tasted good! Maybe it was a fluke and next time they will work great?! Keep me posted!
I too found the batter to be super sticky. I wonder if it has anything to do with it being made in a stand mixer? I made it in a stand mixer but on the lowest speed and didnt over work it. I was so tempted to add more flour but resisted. I will see how they turn out as they are in the oven now after a frustrating time of dealing with the sticky dough. I will post after they have cooked and give it a true rating.
These are delicious. I did 1 can of cherry pie filling and the other side with strawberry pie filling. It turned out great 2 deserts for the price of one. Try it
I haven’t made these yet but I’m wondering how many bars you got out of this and how big did you cut them?
I like the fact we can adjust the amount of ingredients to # to bars we want to make. What suggestions can you help me with when making the blueberry flavor pie filling? Add Cinnamon, lemon, ? ? Thank you. Your recipe is easy to follow & make. Pamela 4/4/2022
I cut it into 24 slice, 6 x 4. This made nice, smallish portions. Perfect when you add a little vanilla ice cream. If you want it to be more like a full slice of pie, I would go 5 x 4 or even 6 x 3.