My mom and I made these cherry kuchen bars last week (yes, it was a joint effort!) after finding the recipe in a holiday baking edition of Better Homes and Gardens. You may have seen this recipe referred to as cherry pie bars on other blogs or on Pinterest. Yep, it’s probably the same delicious recipe!
When I think of cherries, I’m transported to my childhood. My grandpa was a huge fan of cherry pies, in fact, I’m pretty sure he almost always had a half-eaten cherry pie in his kitchen!
I grew to develop my own taste for cherry desserts, and this cherry kuchen bars recipe is absolutely at the top of my cherry sweets must-have list. Not only do these cherry kuchen bars taste heavenly, they are also drop dead gorgeous. Just… look.
Cherry Kuchen Bars Recipe
You know, there are times when you try a recipe from a magazine and the end result looks NOTHING like the oh-so-perfect photo on the printed page, but this was not one of times.
Our version of the cherry kuchen bars looked every bit as beautiful as the magazine photos and that’s why I’m confident that yours will be picture-worthy, too.
Actually, I think that’s one of my favorite things about these delicious bars—they look as impressive as they taste. If you want to serve a delicious dessert that will make your guests say WOW, these cherry kuchen bars are for you.
The cherry kuchen (kuchen is the German word for cake, by the way) bars turned out moist and chewy with a little crisp around the edges. These cherry pie bars are sweet, but not too sweet. Honestly, I usually have to send these to work with my husband when I make them lest I eat half the pan while he’s at work and the kids are at school.
I did want to note that while the recipe states a 32 bar yield, we did not get that many out of the pan. We ended up cutting much larger pieces and had only 24 bars.
Of course, if you’re not a fan of cherries you could easily substitute your favorite pie filling.
RELATED: Check out my easy apple pie bites made with crescent rolls and apple pie filling!
I would also love to try this same recipe with blackberries.
How beautiful would that be?
Be sure to grab the recipe for these outrageously good cherry kuchen bars below.
We hope you enjoy them as much as we did!
Crazy About Dessert Bars? Try These!
Cherry Kuchen Bars Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter softened
- ½ cup shortening
- 1 ¾ cups sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 21- ounce can cherry pie filling or substitute your favorite
Powdered Sugar Icing:
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
- 2 to 3 tablespoons of milk make a drizzle consistency
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl beat butter and shortening with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour. Reserve 1 ½ cups of the dough. Press the remaining dough on to the bottom of an ungreased 15x10x1-inch baking pan.
- Bake for 12 minutes. Remove, then spread pie filling over crust in pan. Spoon reserved dough into small mounds over pie filling.
- Bake an additional 30 minutes or until top is light brown. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Drizzle with powdered sugar icing. Cut and serve.
Notes
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This is awesome! I love cherries and I would rather eat them, rather than any other fruit. Your bars are beautiful, and thank you so much for sharing them at Celebrate It!
Pinned! These sound amazing! :)
I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
These look good… and they would be showy as a dessert or companion to tea. :)
Oh my these looks super delicious. My kids don;t like cherries, so I may make them with apples instead.
My husband and adult son both adore cherry pie so I make it for their birthdays and other times just for them. I’m not a huge fan of pie – I prefer cake. This looks like the perfect compromise.
Your Cherry Kuchen Bars will be amazing! Hope you have a fantastic weekend and thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
Those look delicious. I love cherries as well. Great pictures.
Thanks for sharing at Funtastic Friday.
A.m.a.z.i.n.g! Thanks for sharing at Brag About It. Pinned!
The pictures alone are making me drool, I wonder what would happen if I ate one. Thank you for sharing at the Creative Muster party. PINNED
Robin | Fluster Buster
Hi Crissy, Wow, these cherry kuchen bars look fabulous – your photos are beautiful and I’m sure these are quite delicious! Thanks for sharing! Blessings, Janet