Easy Cherry Crumble Bars

These Cherry Crumble Bars are so easy to make and taste like a pie in a bar! This recipe will definitely become one of your favorites for any occasion. Serve warm with ice cream or cold with coffee, anyway is delicious!

We ended up with 36 pounds of fresh cherries (yes, 3-6) this summer and I couldn't wait to make all things cherry. As I was surfing Instagram one Sunday morning I came across some Cherry Pie Crumble Bars from @bluebowlrecipes. They looked so good I jumped out of bed and went straight to the kitchen to see what I could make. I adapted this recipe to what I had on hand and made a few adjustments, the result was a delicious bar with a cherry almond flavor to die for!! Now, on to th recipe...

Ingredients for Cherry Filling

2½ cups fresh cherries, pitted and cut in half

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon cornstarch

½ teaspoon lime or lemon juice

½ teaspoon almond extract

Ingredients for Crumble

2 cups all purpose flour

1¼ cups rolled oats

½ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg or ½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

2 sticks salted or unsalted butter, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare 8x8 baking pan with non-stick spray and/or parchment paper.

2. Combine all ingredients for cherry filling in a bowl and stir together gently to combine. Place in refrigerator until ready to build bars.

3. In another bowl place the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Stir together to combine everything evenly.

4. Add the melted butter a little at a time to combine completely with flour mixture.

5. Take ⅓ of the crumble mixture and place in bottom of prepared pan. Evenly spread out along the bottom and gently press with fingers to create an even crust.

crumble mixture for cherry crumble bars in pan with parchment paper before baking

crumble mixture for cherry crumble bars in pan with parchment paper after baking

6. Bake bottom crust for 12 minutes, remove and cool for at least 10 minutes.

7. Once crust bottom crust is cooled, take cherry mixture out of fridge and evenly distribute on the baked bottom.

8. Sprinkle the reserved crumble mixture over the top of cherries and gently press down to pack in crumble top. 

9. Bake again for 25 minutes, the topping will brown slightly, but not much.

10. Remove from oven and cool. You can enjoy warm which is delicious and crumbly. Or, you can enjoy refrigerated or cooled which is also delicious and more bar like. I enjoyed my second helping the next day my with my morning coffee straight out of the fridge and it was heaven!

The great thing about this recipe is you can use any fruit you want, not just cherries. It would be delicious with blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, peaches, etc., etc., etc. The possibilities are endless. These bars will last a few days in the fridge in an airtight container.

Don't forget to check out my other cherry recipes: Cherry Tart and Luxardo Cherries!

Thanks again to Blue Bowl Recipes for the inspiration and recipe idea!