Sour Cherry Crumble Bars
Sour cherry crumble bars are tart and sweet and only need one cookie dough for both the crust and crumble. If you’ve been unsure what to make with sour cherries (also called tart cherries), this recipe is for you.
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Sour Cherry Crumble Bars
Sour cherries add a nice zingggg from the tartness and even though it may sound strange, an uplifting tart flavor paired with a buttery cookie works really well. These bars are insanely easy to make, too. The hardest part is pitting the fresh cherries. It is time consuming but the payoff is worth it! Sit down, watch a show, and get to pitting.
What are sour cherries?
Unlike your typical sweet cherries, sour cherries are seriously sour. They live up to their name! You may also see them called tart cherries. If you love a sour flavor, then you really have to try these cherries.
Sour cherries work well for baking because they have less sugar than other cherries. This means when you cook them down or bake them, they will have a tart and sweet flavor profile.
Sour cherries are great for pie filling, cake filling, cupcake filling, jam, or a healthy dollop on top of yogurt. I have other crumble bar recipes like my peach crumble bars and blueberry crumble bars.
Where can you buy sour cherries?
Here in the Midwest, their growing season is pretty short, June through July. Because of the short length of time I often can’t find them in grocery stores.
Look for them at farmers markets, farm stands, or in the frozen section of the grocery store.
Ingredients
Before you begin baking make sure you have all of the ingredients in your pantry and refrigerator. If you aren’t sure where to buy sour cherries, read the section above!
- Unsalted butter
- All-purpose flour
- Brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt (I use Kosher)
- Egg
- Vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste)
- Fresh lemon juice (you just need one lemon)
- Cornstarch
- Sour cherries (also called tart cherries)
Also make sure you have a 9×13 pan! This desserts cuts beautifully into 15 bars.
How to make sour cherry crumble bars
1. Cherry Prep
Prepare the sour cherries. Wash and pat the cherries dry. If using fresh cherries, you’ll need to pit the cherries. Use a toothpick or cherry pitter. Once pitted, set the sour cherries aside.
2. Make the cookie dough
Preheat your oven to 375℉. Line a 9×13-inch tray with parchment paper. Cut the butter into tablespoons and set aside.
In a large bowl, add the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt and whisk together. Set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and vanilla extract.
Add the egg and vanilla mixture and butter cubes into the large mixing bowl with the dry ingredients. Use forks, pastry cutter or your hands to bring the mixture together until it looks like large crumbs. You don’t need to knead this into a firm ball of dough.
Press ½ of the dough mixture into the baking tray and set aside. (Half of the mixture is about 428 grams.)
3. sour cherry filling
In a large bowl, add the sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Stir the mixture together. Add the sour cherries and evenly coat them with the cornstarch mixture.
Pour the cherries on top of the cookie base, spreading them out evenly. The cherries won’t cover every space, but that’s okay, the crumble will!
Take the leftover cookie mixture and crumble it in your hands, sprinkling it evenly over the cherries.
4. Bake and Serve
Bake for 35 – 38 minutes until the top looks golden brown. Cool the bars for 1-2 hours before cutting into 15 medium sized bars.
RECIPE CARD
Sour Cherry Crumble Bars
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 1 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cubed (226g)
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (360g)
- ½ cup brown sugar (100g)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Sour Cherry Filling
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp cornstarch (7g)
- 4 cups sour cherries; washed, drained, pitted, and patted dry (or frozen cherries that are thawed and patted dry) (600g)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375℉. Line a 9×13-inch tray with parchment paper.
- Prepare the sour cherries. Wash and pat the cherries dry. If using fresh cherries, you'll need to pit the cherries. Use a toothpick or cherry pitter. Once pitted, set the sour cherries aside.
- Cut the butter into tablespoons and set aside.1 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
- In a large bowl, add the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt and whisk together. Set aside.3 cups all-purpose flour, ½ cup brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp salt
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and vanilla extract.1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 large egg, room temperature
- Add the egg and vanilla mixture and butter cubes into the large mixing bowl with the dry ingredients. Use forks, pastry cutter or your hands to bring the mixture together until it looks like large crumbs. You don't need to knead this into a firm ball of dough.1 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
- Press ½ of the dough mixture into the baking tray. (Half of the mixture is about 428 grams.)
Sour Cherry Filling
- In a large bowl, add the sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Stir the mixture together. Add the sour cherries and evenly coat them with the cornstarch mixture.4 cups sour cherries; washed, drained, pitted, and patted dry (or frozen cherries that are thawed and patted dry), ½ cup granulated sugar, 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice, 1 tbsp cornstarch
- Pour the cherries on top of the cookie base, spreading them out evenly. The cherries won't cover every space, but that's okay, the crumble will!
- Take the leftover cookie mixture and sprinkle it over the cherries. This doesn't have to be perfect, just crumble the bigger pieces in-between your hands if needed.
- Bake for 35 – 38 minutes until the top looks golden brown.
- Cool the bars for 1-2 hours before cutting into 15 medium sized bars.
Notes
- Sour cherries may also be called tart cherries. Use fresh sour cherries to have the best sour flavor. I’ve found fresh sour cherries at farmers markets, u-pick farms, and some select specialty grocery stores.
- Freeze sour cherry crumble cookie bars for up to a month but note that the texture will not be crisp after thawing.
- These bars taste great at room temperature, cold straight from the refrigerator, or warm (served with vanilla ice cream!).
