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Enjoy cherry pie in its best form: cherry pie bars! You can whip up a whole pan in minutes using cherry pie filling. They’re beautiful, easy to make, and always a crowd-pleaser!
Fruity desserts are the best! Try some more of my favorites like this delicious berry cheesecake salad, or my families favorite Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls with Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze
Reason’s You’ll Love This Dessert
- Incredible Flavor: These bars combine buttery crust with sweet-tart cherry filling and a hint of almond, creating a delicious treat everyone will love.
- Quick and Easy: Simple ingredients and easy steps mean you can whip these up in no time, perfect for busy days or spontaneous cravings.
- Perfect for Sharing: Great for gatherings, these bars are easy to cut and serve, making them a hit at any party or family get-together. Plus, the glaze makes them look as amazing as they taste!
Cherry Pie Bars Recipe
My favorite pie is cherry pie! It’s so delicious and you can have it all year long, no matter that the occasion! But pie can be time consuming, and thats where this simple recipe comes in!
These cherry pie bars are so good, 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!
Ingredients to Make Cherry Pie Bars
These ingredients are so simple, you probably just need to grab some cherry pie filling and you might already have the rest! Check out the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all of the exact measurements.
Bars
- Butter: Adds rich flavor and creates a tender, flaky texture.
- Sugar: Sweetens the batter and helps create a golden brown crust.
- Eggs: Provide structure and moisture, making the bars soft and chewy.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances the overall flavor with a warm, sweet note.
- Almond Extract: Adds a subtle, nutty depth that pairs well with cherries.
- Flour: Forms the base of the batter, giving the bars their structure.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness and enhances the other flavors.
- Cherry Pie Filling: Provides a delicious, fruity center that’s easy to use.
Glaze
- Vanilla Extract and Almond Extract: These complement the flavors in the crust.
- Powdered Sugar: Used in the glaze for sweetness and a smooth texture.
- Milk: Thins the glaze to a perfect drizzling consistency.
How Do You Make Cherry Pie Bars?
This recipe is so easy and comes together in less than an hour, start to finish! And most of that is baking time.
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with pan spray and set aside.
- Cream: Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and beat well. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts.
- Combine: In a separate bowl combine the flour and salt. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and mix until combined.
- Add batter and filling to pan: Spread 3 cups of the batter evenly 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: Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and the top is lightly golden brown. If you are using a 15×10-inch pan instead, the bake time may end up being a bit shorter, about 30 minutes. Cool completely.
- Make the glaze: Whisk together the glaze ingredients and drizzle over the cooled bars.
Cherry Pie Bars Tips
- Room-Temperature Ingredients: Use room-temperature eggs and butter for a fluffier texture. To quickly warm cold eggs, soak them in warm (not hot) water for 5-10 minutes.
- Measuring the Flour: For best results, spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off. This prevents dense, heavy bars.
- Grease the Pan: Grease your pan well to ensure easy removal. I like using a pan spray with flour, like Baker’s Joy.
- Try Different Fillings: You can use any pie filling you like—apple, strawberry, peach, or blueberry. For a fall flavor, add a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Pan Size: A 9×13-inch pan with 2-inch high sides works best. If you use a larger pan, reduce the baking time by 5-10 minutes.
Storing Cherry Pie Bars
This dessert is great to make ahead of time because it stores great!
- At Room Temperature: Store the bars by tightly covering them with plastic wrap or placing them in an airtight container. They will stay fresh for up to 5 days.
- In the Refrigerator: If you prefer to refrigerate them, they will last up to 7 days.
- In the Freezer: To freeze, cut the bars into pieces and layer them with parchment paper. They can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for a few hours. For best results, wait to add the glaze until you’re ready to serve, as it may get sticky when thawed.
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Cherry Pie Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 21-ounce cans cherry pie filling
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with pan spray and set aside.
- Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and beat well. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts.
- In a separate bowl combine the flour and salt. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and mix until combined.
- Spread 3 cups of the batter evenly 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 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and the top is lightly golden brown. If you are using a 15×10-inch pan instead, the bake time may end up being a bit shorter, about 30 minutes. Cool completely.
- Whisk together the glaze ingredients and drizzle over the cooled bars.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I just made this for a work party tomorrow.. Omg!!! These are the bomb! Followed the exact recipe, used the 9×13 pan (I love doughy) and baked for about 45 minutes till it was golden brown. Almost has a biscuit like texture, which my son says why it should be for breakfast! I have staple recipes I have stuck to all my adult life…Apple pie, chocolate almond biscotti, monster cookies, and chocolate chip banana bread. I’ve added this now. Thank you for sharing!
I made these the night before last night & they were very delicious! How do I properly store them? I left the remaining bars covered on my counter.. Are they still okay to eat or should I refrigerate or freeze them?I don’t want to waste them please help! 🙂
I made these today & as usual I made way to many for just the 2 of us & I don’t want them to dry out. Can I freeze these like some of the Chocolate bars that I have been making? And what would you freeze them in? Thank you so much for your help. And these were THE BEST BARS EVER my husband like Cherry pie so I tried this one on him & he liked it a lot me to way better than pie. Great recipe!!!
Hi!
Just made these for my Husband’s Birthday. Can they be frozen?
Thanks for such a yummy recipe!
Just made the Cherry Pie Bars, I agree the bottom crust is too thick. I also would like a thinner crust. The bars to me would have been better if the crust was lighter and not so thick.. I guess I may have read the directions wrong. I baked the bottom crust first for about 30 minutes. Then spread the cherry pie filling 2 cans on top of the baked crust. I then spooned more batter on top the cheeries by spoonedfuls and baked again foe 20 minutes. Then cooled and put glaze on top…… Nothing burned and it came out just like the picture. Anyone else do this?
How do you think this recipe might fare substituting gluten free flour for the all-purpose? I wonder if it would work, and turn out similar? These look SO good!
I made these today for my dad’s BBQ Birthday party tomorrow. They definitely came out great. Definitely more of a sugar cookie texture as opposed to pie crust but that’s okay by me as my least favorite thing about pie is the crust, the drizzle however was way too thick, I had to add a lot more milk to get it relatively thin and at that I still couldn’t “drizzle” it I had to kind of plop and spread it. I think 1 cup of sugar was a little too much. Otherwise these are fabulous I cooked mine for 40 mins in a 9×13 pan and the firmed up perfectly and were able to cut in bars perfectly.
These are delicious. I made these for 4th of July picnics. They were a hit. I used the full recipe and put it in a 17.25×11.5×1 in. Pan. I made half cherry and half blueberry. Both were good, but I think next time I will make it all cherry. Thanks for sharing. I will be making these again.
4th of july… make with all cherry; dye the dough with blue food coloring adding the white icing and you have red white and blue for a festive look.
These look delicious! I love cherry pie, so these bars sound soooo gooood. Can’t wait until I get to the grocery store to get the cherry pie filling. I’m going to substitute cinnamon for the almond extract. Oh my goodness, can’t wait to make these! Think I’ll make them for the 4th of July!!! <3
I was just wondering if anyone has made this with rice/coconut flour my husband has to eat to gluten free and these look wonderful. And has anyone tried it with apple pie filling?
Made these for the Father’s day gathering and everyone loved them. I actually enjoyed them as well so I know this will be a must make for the Holiday events in my family! Thank you for your recipe.
Made these today, and they are wonderful.
Hi. Sorry to be a pain but I am South African and I don’t know what cherry pie filling is? I can get canned cherries, does that qualify? Or is it a special mix of ingredients?
Hi, HilaryKlopper,
Cherry pie filling is a ready to pour and bake concoction with cherries, sugar and cornstarch thickening. You should be able to make a cherry pie filling from scratch with very little difficulty, and it will probably taste better than the canned stuff! Good luck.
I’ve use apple and blueberry amazing deli-sh!
The original recipe says to make these in a jelly roll pan, which is essentially a cookie sheet with sides. Maybe that’s why they turned out soggy or unbaked for some people- they were too thick to bake through. In any case I just put them in the oven in a 9×13 with half the dough so we’ll see- they smell great so far!
Do these freeze well?