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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.

Up close shot of cherry pie bars stacked on top of each other

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!

process of making bars

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.

process of making 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!

Finished up close cherry pie bar

Can I use any pie filling?

Yes! You can make this recipe with any pie filling you have — apple, strawberry, peach and/or blueberry. To make a fall flavored bar, add some cinnamon and nutmeg to the filling!

What pan should I use?

Make sure to use a 10x15x1 for best results and bars that are evenly baked through!
With this pan it takes about 30-35 minutes for the bars to be fully baked through.
cherry pie bars on display

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Cherry Pie Bars

4.80 from 64 votes
By: Alyssa Rivers
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!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Servings: 26 bars

Ingredients 

Glaze

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

Calories: 204kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 2gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 44mgSodium: 162mgPotassium: 28mgFiber: 1gSugar: 20gVitamin A: 255IUCalcium: 9mgIron: 0.8mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!
 

About Alyssa Rivers

Alyssa Rivers is the author of 'The Tried and True Cookbook', a professional food photographer and experienced recipe-developer. Having a passion for cooking, her tried and true recipes have been featured on Good Morning America, Today Food, Buzzfeed and more.

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311 Comments

    1. Yes! Let them completely cool before freezing them. These will last in your freezer for 2-3 months.

  1. I have 2 12 oz cans of cherry pie filling I wanted to use up. Do you think it would work if I just halved this recipe in a smaller pan?

  2. I’m new to baking that doesn’t come out of a box for the most part.
    If you don’t have a sifter could you just use the flour unsifted?
    Also, can I use salted butter? It’s crazy it says unsalted butter but then you add salt in the recipe. I love cherry. Next I will try one with cherry and chocolate yummy! Thank you

    1. If you don’t have a sifter, you could use a fine-mesh strainer instead! As far as the butter goes, if you use salted butter then I would use less salt in the recipe. I like to use unsalted butter and then measure out my salt so that I can have control over the amount of salt in the recipe. That’s trickier to do with salted butter. Let me know how it turns out for you!

  3. 5 stars
    I only had one can of cherry pie filling but wanted to try the recipe so I halved the recipe and used a 9 x 9 x 2 inch pan, lined with foil and greased. I didn’t use the almond flavored icing , to cut down on the sugar, but sprinkled about 1/4 cup of sliced almonds on top.of the batter before baking. This is almost like a coffee cake and also delicious slightly warmed.

  4. 5 stars
    I made the Cherry Pie filling bars and they were delicious! Very easy recipe to follow. I am making these again for Thanksgiving dessert.;

  5. 5 stars
    Could you make these ahead and store in the fridge? I tried these bars tonight. They are delightful, but I’m planning to serve them on Thanksgiving, which is 3 days from now. Thx

  6. If I wanted to halve this recipe (it’s only for my husband & myself and I know I will eat the majority of these yummy looking bars!) could I use an 8”x8” pan? What do you think the baking time would be?

  7. 4 stars
    Followed this recipe and it’s delicious, but overly sweet for me. I’m thinking of cutting the cake sugar from 2 cups to 1 cup. Reading all of the reviews, no one has mentioned the sweetness. And yes, I know it’s a dessert, lol. Thoughts anyone?

  8. 5 stars
    These are amazing… followed the recipe as is. Just a quick question… do I need to keep these refrigerated? I wanted to cut the rest of them tomorrow to take to a dinner party and wasn’t sure if I could keep them out overnight…

    1. They will stay fresh at room temperature for about 3 days! Just make sure to store them in an airtight container.