Easy Tasty Cherry Crumble Bars (Printable)
Buttery oat bars with sweet cherry filling and golden crumble topping
# What You Need:
→ For the Crust and Crumble
01 - 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1 ½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
03 - ¾ cup granulated sugar
04 - ½ cup packed light brown sugar
05 - 1 tsp baking powder
06 - ½ tsp salt
07 - 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
08 - 1 tsp vanilla extract
→ For the Cherry Filling
09 - 3 cups fresh or frozen pitted cherries, halved
10 - ⅓ cup granulated sugar
11 - 2 tbsp cornstarch
12 - 1 tbsp lemon juice
13 - ½ tsp almond extract
# How-To:
01 - Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang for easy removal.
02 - In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt.
03 - Add melted butter and vanilla extract to the dry ingredients. Stir until crumbly and evenly moistened.
04 - Reserve 1 ½ cups of the crumb mixture for the topping. Press the remaining mixture firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan to form the crust.
05 - In another bowl, toss cherries with sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and almond extract until evenly coated.
06 - Spread the cherry mixture evenly over the crust.
07 - Sprinkle the reserved crumble mixture evenly over the cherries.
08 - Bake for 35–40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.
09 - Cool completely in the pan, then lift out using the parchment overhang. Cut into bars and serve.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- The buttery oat crust stays tender even after days tucked away in the cookie jar
- These bars travel beautifully and actually taste better on day two when the filling settles into the crumble
02 -
- Pressing the crust firmly with the back of a measuring cup prevents it from crumbling apart when you cut the bars
- Frozen cherries work beautifully here and actually hold their shape better than fresh during baking
03 -
- The almond extract is optional but it's what gives these bars that bakery quality flavor
- Room temperature ingredients mix more easily though melted butter works perfectly here