Cherry Pie Crumb Bars

My mother-in-law got a gigantic bag of cherries the other day and was kind enough to share them with me.  I don’t really use cherries too often, so I wasn’t sure what to do with them at first, but these Cherry Pie Crumb Bars were the perfect choice!  Yumtown classic!  Pro Tip:  Did you know you can pit a cherry using a paperclip?  True story!

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup unsalted butter melted , cooled to room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups fresh cherries , pitted, each sliced in half
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp granulated sugar

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

• Line a square 8" baking pan with parchment paper. Butter the sides and bottom of lined pan. Set aside.

• In a medium mixing bowl, stir together cherries, cornstarch and lemon juice.

• In a large mixing bowl, stir together melted butter and sugar. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and stir with a fork until the mixture resembles crumbs.

• Reserve 3/4 cup of mixture.

• Press remaining crumb mixture into the bottom of prepared pan.

• Spread cherry filling over the crust.

• Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture over cherries.

• Sprinkle sugar over crumb topping.

• Bake bars for 23 to 25 minutes OR until the top is golden.

• Cool completely before cutting.