Cherry Almond Bars
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The following recipe and photography were provided by Food Scientist Kathleen Ann of Bread Over Heels.
My favorite summertime dessert is a fruit streusel bar, which makes the most of fresh summer produce.
These Cherry Almond Bars are an exciting variation of the fruit streusel bar, made with fresh cherries from Heinen’s, slivered almonds and a bit of oats for the perfect wholesome seasonal dessert.
Almond extract in both the fruit filling and the streusel perfectly complements the cherry flavor profile, and sugar is kept at a low level to allow the natural sweetness of the fruit to shine.
I love these straight out of the refrigerator for a cool and refreshing summer treat. Happy summer baking!
Cherry Almond Bars
- Cook time:
- 45min
- Prep time:
- 20min
- Total time:
- 65min
- Servings:
- 12 bars
Ingredients
For the Cherry Filling
- 2 cups cherries, pitted and halved
- 2 Tbsp. sugar
- 1 Tbsp. flour
- 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
- ½ tsp. almond extract
- 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
For the Streusel
- 1 ¼ cups flour
- ½ cup oats
- ½ cup sugar
- A pinch of salt
- ¼ tsp. baking powder
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter, cold and cut into cubes
- ¼ cup slivered almonds
- ½ tsp. almond extract
- 1 Heinen's cage free egg, beaten
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line an 8×8-inch baking tin with parchment paper, leaving a slight overhang on two sides. Set aside.
- In a medium-size bowl, prepare the cherry filling. Combine the cherries, sugar, flour, cornstarch, almond extract and lemon juice.
- In a large bowl, prepare the streusel. Add the flour, oats, sugar, salt and baking powder to the bowl. Stir to combine. Add the butter and mix with your hands or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the slivered almonds, almond extract and egg. Stir until the egg is mixed in well.
- Add 2/3 of streusel mixture to the bottom of the prepared pan. Add the cherry filling on top. Add the remaining 1/3 of the streusel mixture on top of the cherry filling.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the cherry filling is just starting to bubble. Let cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes before cutting into the bars. Store in the refrigerator.
