It’s hot out. Really, really hot. Steam up the windows hot. You’re not gonna hear me complain for a second. I love all this hot weather – it’s exponentially better than winter. I relish a long walk or even just driving around town in the sunshine. It should be like this all year. I know a lot of people can’t stand the thought of turning on their oven when the mercury rises. It sounds like torture. They’d rather grill, use the microwave or stovetop, or keep things cool by eating raw fruits and vegetables.
I’ve been loving no bake recipes lately too. It’s nice not to heat up the house, not to mention having a tasty treat ready to eat in no time flat. And ice cream is amazing, plus, once it’s churned, it’s a chilly treat sure to beat the heat. There’s no doubt heat waves mean eating differently – no soups or stews, more fresh fruit and vegetables. I’m totally on board with that.
But nothing comes between my oven and me. That’s right, even when it’s ninety out, my oven is on pretty much every day, sometimes for hours at a time. I can’t give up roasted garlic, vegetables, and fish. I just can’t do it. And while all the no bake treats, full of peanut butter, and creamy ice cream are amazing, the abundance of summer fruits calls to me, wanting to be turned into a baked good. Pie, cake, bars – it doesn’t matter. So, I turn down the air and enjoy baking, not even noticing the heat.
Sour cherries are like finding a prize at the farmers’ market. I was lucky enough to pick some up last weekend. They are too tart to eat raw, I didn’t even venture a taste, but when hit with some sugar and baked into a treat, these tiny beauties let their sweet-tart, pure cherry flavor shine.
I baked them into Sour Cherry Crumb Bars. The filling is pretty much pure cherry goodness, while the crust and topping are hearty with lots of oatmeal. I thought the topping would get a little crunchier, have a little more texture, but I don’t think it’s supposed to. Instead, it blends into the filling with texture coming from the crust. A great breakfast, snack, or dessert, forget about the heat wave and make these bars!
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Sour Cherry Crumb Bars
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 18 bars 1x
Ingredients
Crust and Topping
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 ¼ cups old fashioned rolled oats
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, cold and cubed
Filling
- ¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 cups sour cherries, pitted
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 13 inch pan, line it with parchment, leaving an overhang, and butter the parchment.
- Make the crust. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, oats, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add the butter and blend it in with a pastry cutter or your fingers until it is pretty well combined and forms clumps.
- Reserve 1 ½ cups of the crust mixture. Pour the rest of it in the prepared pan and press it in firmly with your hands, covering the entire bottom of the pan. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cool while you prepare the filling.
- Make the filling. In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, cinnamon, flour, cherries, and butter. Spoon onto the crust. If the mixture is very juicy, do not put all the juice on the crust or it will become soggy. Sprinkle with the reserved crust mixture. Bake for about 40 minutes, rotating halfway through, until the filling is bubbling and the topping golden brown. Cool completely before cutting into bars. Bars may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or frozen, wrapped in parchment and foil, and placed in a zipper bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for a couple hours or in a 350 degree F oven for about 15 minutes.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Baked New Frontiers in Baking
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
I’ve still been turning on my oven also even though in NYC we’re supposed to be conserving energy due to the heat. Oops.
I wish I could find sour cherries somewhere! When I do I am DEFINITELY making these!
Wow, Very good. I think sour cherries will be harvested soon around here, sweet cherries are on the stands now, I may be trying this one out.
It’s great you can find sour cherries locally. I have trouble located them. It’s like a mission every summer. Thanks, Linda!
These were delicious! We love cherries so this treat did not last a minute 🙂
★★★★★
Your cherry bars look to die for. So gooey and moist. I don’t think I’ve ever baked with cherries before. Will have to try these!
You have to try baking with cherries! Cherry desserts are some of my favorites! Thanks for visiting, Christin 🙂
I adore sour cherries and turning them into these crumb bars sounds perfect. I can’t wait to try this out.
I’m one of those heat haters – being pregnant doesn’t help! 😉 But, these bars are worth turning on the oven! 🙂
I liked this very much.
Very good treat. I love the topping and cherries are a favorite of mine.
I have been just informed I commented on the wrong treat. So although I don’t doubt that the crisp is good, the crumb bars are what I tried. My apologies, but they really were good.
★★★★
No problem! The crisp is very good – wish I could have shared it with you 🙂
I love cherries and even when I was in Traverse City, I could not find a more delicious cherry treat than your crumb bars. Please make it again soon!
★★★★★
Thanks for such a high complement, Stan!
I really enjoyed the cherry crumb bar. The flavor was outstanding and texture just melts in your mouth. Not cake, not a pie, just a really great combination!
★★★★★
The cherry crumb bar was very good. Things with seasonal fruit always seem even better.
★★★★★
I always love baking with seasonal fruit and agree it makes the best treats. Thanks, Jeff!
so tasty and refreshing, i love the cherry in anything that is put, gives more sweet to the cake, sour bars, pie or anything..
Our office recently had the pleasure of indulging on these delicious cherry crumb bars personally made and delivered by the “AMAZING” Laura herself! Laura, by far one of the best desserts ever! It was such a treat! Thank you so much we definitely enjoyed and devoured them!
Thank you so much for leaving a comment, Melanie! I’m glad you liked the bars 🙂
I have a cherry tree in my backyard and made these. Absolutely delicious and gone in a flash when I serve them.
I’m so glad you like them, Joyce. Thanks for the comment 🙂
I know this is an old post but I just came across it on Pinterest. We have a sour cherry tree so I’m always looking for new ways to use them. I’m getting ready to serve a July 4th week-end brunch so this looked like just the thing. All I can say is YUM. Just the right amount of sweet & tart. I pulsed the crust in the food processor which made blending the butter and other ingredients easier to manage.
Hi Mariann! First, let me say I am so jealous you have a sour cherry tree. That sounds wonderful. Second, yay – I’m so glad you liked the bars and left a comment. Have a great holiday 🙂
These are in the oven now. Can’t wait to try them!
I hope you love them, Paula! It’s been too long since I have made a batch.
Ouch. I just tossed this whole batch out. These bars were inedible. I added a bit more sugar to the filling than the recipe called for, in fact, I doubled it. But they were SO SOUR that not one person in my cherry-loving family would eat them. I used fresh, sour cherries from a tree in my son’s yard. He has used his cherries before in cooking; he did warn me that I needed to “sweeten them up” quite a bit. Since your recipe called for sour cherries, I thought I’d found the perfect way to turn them into dessert. I should have gotten one of his recipes because this one just didn’t work for me.
I have never written a recipe review before but am really annoyed that I followed it carefully only to waste my time and ingredients. I can’t account for the superlative 5-star ratings unless those reviewers substituted sweet cherries.
★
Hi Beth, I am so sorry you had such a big issue with this recipe. I can promise I made them and used real sour cherries from Michigan so I am not sure what went wrong. I apologize again that you had trouble.