Sour-Cherry Crumble Bars Recipe

Prep Time:

25 mins

Cook Time:

1 hr 10 mins

Total Time:

1 hr 35 mins

Servings:

9

For a sweet-tangy summer treat, try this easy recipe for sour-cherry crumble bars. They are much simpler to make and more portable than cherry pie. Sour cherries are only available fresh for a short period of time in early summer but, they can also be found frozen or jarred year-round.

To make these easy bars, you'll whip up a quick crumb mixture, which is used as both the base and topping. There’s no cooking required for the filling; all you need to do is stir together the ingredients and pour over the crust. Once baked and cooled, these bright-tasting bars are ready to be sliced and tucked into lunchboxes, packed in a picnic basket, or snacked on straight from the pan.

Where to Buy Sour Cherries

Unlike bing cherries, which are in season for a few months each summer, sour cherries are only available fresh for a short, typically two-week window in late June or early July. If you find them at your local farmers market, we strongly suggest snatching up a few pints to use right away or freeze for future recipes.

Luckily, sour cherries are also available frozen or canned. Look for them at Eastern European food markets or online. If you're lucky, you may be able to find them jarred at your grocery store, but most supermarkets are more likely to carry frozen sweet, rather than sour, cherries.

How to Pit Sour Cherries

Before you can bake with sour cherries, you'll need to pit them. If you've got a cherry pitter at home, now's the time to dig it out from the cabinet. Otherwise, you can use a chopstick, the end of a paper clip, or your finger to press the pit up through the stem end and out of the fruit. Sour cherries are less sturdy than bing cherries and therefore a little easier to pit.

Directions

Heat oven; prepare baking pan:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter an 8-inch square cake pan. Line with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides; butter parchment.
Make crust:

Beat butter with sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed. Reduce speed to medium-low, add flour and salt, and beat until dough forms clumps but does not completely hold together.
Press crumb mixture into pan:

Press 2 1/2 cups flour mixture into bottom and 1 inch up sides of prepared pan.
Make filling and pour over crust; top with remaining crumb mixture:

In a medium bowl, stir together cherries, sugar, flour, lemon juice, and salt. Pour into crust. Crumble remaining flour mixture (about 1/2 cup) evenly over top, squeezing to create clumps.
Bake; let cool before serving:

Bake until bubbling in center and crust is golden, about 1 hour, 10 minutes (if browning too quickly, tent top with foil). Transfer to a wire rack and let cool at least 20 minutes before slicing into squares.

How to Store Sour-Cherry Crumble Bars

These sour-cherry bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

For longer storage, place them between sheets of parchment or wax paper in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw them in the refrigerator overnight before enjoying.