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These cherry pie bars have a buttery shortbread crust, a thick layer of sweet cherry filling, and a cream cheese glaze that melts right into the crumble on top. You get all the good parts of cherry pie. None of the rolling, chilling, crimping, or quietly praying your lattice holds together.
If you’re on a cherry kick, you’ll love my cherry crisp, my best ever cherry pie, these chocolate cherry cookies, and my chocolate cherry cupcakes. And if it’s really the shortbread you’re after, my shortbread bars and lemon bars use this same buttery dough.
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Pin ItWhat Makes These Cherry Pie Bars Different
There are no eggs in this recipe, which is unusual for cherry bars. Most versions call for two to four. Mine skips them entirely, so the crust stays tender and shortbread-y instead of cakey, and the bars work for anyone with an egg allergy.
The other thing that sets them apart is the flavor in the dough. Orange zest and a pinch of cloves go into the crust, and more orange zest goes into the glaze. It’s subtle. But it’s the reason people ask what’s in these.
The method is as easy as it gets. One shortbread dough does double duty as the crust and the crumble topping. Half gets pressed into a 13×9 pan and par-baked; canned cherry pie filling goes over the top, and the rest gets crumbled on before the final bake. No pitting, no rolling, no chilling dough for an hour. About an hour start to finish, most of it hands-off, and it makes 16 bars that travel well, slice cleanly, and hold up beautifully on a dessert table.
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“I don’t know what I like more, the cherry filling or the shortbread crust! WOW!” — Caryn
Cherry Pie Bars Ingredients
Cherry Pie Filling. You’ll need 21 ounces. I use Lucky Leaf’s organic filling because it’s made with real fruit and no high fructose corn syrup, and honestly it just tastes better than most. Any fruit filling works here. Canned peach is lovely if you want to try the same trick I use in my canned peach pie, and blueberry or apple are both excellent.
Unsalted Butter. Room temperature, not melted. This is a shortbread dough, so the butter is doing most of the work. It’s the same principle behind my shortbread pie crust, which is worth knowing if you ever want to turn this into an actual pie.
Granulated Sugar. Sweetens the crust and balances the tart cherries.
Orange Zest. The thing that makes these different. Lemon zest works too, and if citrus in baked goods is your love language, go make my lemon loaf cake next.
Vanilla Extract. Warmth and depth. Almond extract is the classic cherry pairing if you’d rather go that direction. I use flavored shortbread doughs all the time, like in my rosemary shortbread cookies, and it’s an easy way to make a simple recipe taste like more.
Ground Cloves. Just a pinch. It rounds out the cherry the way warm spice rounds out fruit in my homemade apple pie, without tasting like Christmas. Cinnamon works if cloves aren’t your thing.
All-Purpose Flour. A 1:1 gluten-free blend works if you need it.
Baking Powder and Salt. Don’t skip either one. They keep the crust from being dense.
Cherry Pie Bars Glaze Ingredients
Confectioners Sugar. Sift it if you want a really smooth drizzle.
Cream Cheese. Room temperature and very soft. This is what makes the glaze tangy instead of just sweet, and it’s the same reason a cream cheese glaze beats a plain sugar one on my lemon olive oil cake.
Milk. Thins the glaze to drizzling consistency. Add it slowly.
Orange Zest and Ground Cloves. They echo the crust and tie the whole thing together.
How to Make Cherry Pie Bars
One dough, two jobs. If you’ve made my shortbread bars or lemon bars, this will feel familiar!
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter the bottom of a 13×9 baking dish.
- In an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy.
- Add the vanilla extract and orange zest and mix to combine.
- Add the flour, salt, baking powder, and cloves. Blend on low until the dough comes together.
- Divide the dough in half. Press one half evenly into the bottom of the dish. Put the other half in the fridge to chill.
- Bake the bottom crust for 10 minutes, then take it out.
- Spread the cherry filling evenly over the warm crust.
- Crumble the chilled dough over the top. Leave gaps. You want to see cherry peeking through.
- Bake for 25 to 30 more minutes, until the top is lightly golden. Baking times vary, so go by color.
- Let the bars cool completely before glazing. This is the step everyone skips and it’s the one that matters most.
- Whip the glaze ingredients together until smooth, then drizzle it over the cooled bars. Scatter a few extra cherries on top if you have them.
Eden’s Tips
Chill half the dough. It sounds fussy but it takes two minutes and it’s the difference between crumbling and smearing.
Line the pan with parchment with a little overhang. You can lift the whole slab out and cut clean squares on a board instead of hacking at them in the dish. Same trick I use for shortbread bars.
Cool them all the way. If you glaze warm bars, the cream cheese glaze slides right off and pools at the bottom. Ask me how I know.
Don’t overload the filling. One 21-ounce can is exactly right for a 13×9. More than that and the bottom crust goes soft.
Save a few cherries from the can to dot on top after glazing. Two seconds, and it’s the whole photo.
How to Store Cherry Pie Bars
Because of the cream cheese glaze, these do best in the fridge.
- Refrigerator: Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Room temperature: Fine for a few hours on a dessert table, but refrigerate anything left over.
- Freezer: Freeze cut bars between layers of parchment in a sealed container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature and glaze after thawing for the prettiest result.
Make-ahead desserts are my whole personality lately. If you want another one you can build a day early and forget about, my no bake tiramisu is the one I lean on most.
When to Serve Cherry Pie Bars
These are my go-to when I need a dessert that travels. They’re wonderful for the 4th of July because they’re already red, and nobody has to balance a slice of pie on a paper plate. They’re just as good at Christmas next to a plate of cut out sugar cookies.
For a party, I’ll cut them small and add them to a dessert charcuterie board with a few other bites. Warm one up with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and it’s basically cherry pie a la mode with zero effort. For brunch, they sit beautifully next to strawberry muffins and a pot of coffee.
Cherry Pie Bars FAQs
You can, but it’s a different project. You’ll need to pit the cherries and cook them down with sugar and cornstarch until the mixture is thick enough to hold its shape. If it’s watery going in, you’ll get a soggy crust. For this recipe, I really do recommend canned or jarred filling. It’s consistent, it’s fast, and organic versions taste great. If you want to work with fresh cherries, make my best ever cherry pie instead.
Yes. The cream cheese glaze means these should go in the fridge once they’ve cooled. They’ll keep for up to 5 days in an airtight container. Let them sit out for 15 minutes before serving so the crust softens back up.
This recipe already is. Most cherry bar recipes call for two to four eggs, but a true shortbread dough doesn’t need them. The butter binds everything. You get a more tender, crumbly crust and a recipe that works for egg allergies. If you bake around other restrictions too, my chocolate chip cookies without butter are another good one to have in your back pocket.
Almost always too much filling, or skipping the par-bake. Baking the bottom crust for 10 minutes before the filling goes on sets it so it can stand up to the moisture. It’s the same reason I blind bake my shortbread pie crust. And stick to one 21-ounce can.
Absolutely. Blueberry, apple, peach, and strawberry all work with this exact dough and bake time. Apple filling is worth chopping into smaller pieces first so the bars slice neatly. If canned fruit desserts are your thing, my canned peach pie and strawberry lemonade pie run on the same easy logic.
Yes, and they’re better on day two. Bake and cool them the day before, then glaze a few hours before serving. You can also freeze them unglazed for up to 3 months.
A 13×9 baking dish. This recipe is written for that size and makes 16 bars. A jelly roll pan will give you thinner bars and needs less bake time, so start checking around 20 minutes.
Same flavors, much less work. A traditional cherry pie means rolling dough, fitting it to a dish, crimping an edge, and usually a lattice. These bars use one press-in shortbread dough for the base and the topping, they bake in a 13×9, and they cut into squares you can pick up. If you want to see the whole range, my pie recipes are all in one place.
More Dessert Recipes
Rosemary Shortbread Cookies with Brown Sugar
Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie with Shortbread Crust
If you make these cherry pie bars, please come back and leave a 5-star rating and review below. It helps other readers find the recipe and I love hearing how they turned out for you!
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Easy Cherry Pie Bars
Ingredients
Cherry Pie Bars
- 21 ounces cherry pie filling, I use Lucky Leaf
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1/8 tsp cloves
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
Cream Cheese Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners sugar
- 4 ounces cream cheese, super soft, room temp.
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1/2 tsp orange zest
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom of a 13×9 baking dish.
- In an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy.
- Add the vanilla extract and orange zest and mix to combine.
- Add the flour, salt, baking powder, and cloves. Blend on low until incorporated.
- Divide the dough in half. Press one half evenly into the bottom of the baking dish. Place the other half in the refrigerator to chill.
- Bake the bottom crust for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven.
- Spread the cherry pie filling evenly over the warm crust.
- Crumble the chilled dough over the filling, leaving gaps so the cherries show through.
- Bake for another 25 to 30 minutes. Baking times vary, so go by color. The top should be lightly golden.
- Cool the bars completely before glazing.
- Whip all the glaze ingredients together in an electric mixer until smooth, then drizzle over the cooled bars.
- Add a few extra cherries from the filling over the top if you'd like.
Video
Notes
- Use room temperature butter and cream cheese for the smoothest results.
- Chill half the dough so it crumbles instead of smears.
- Line the dish with parchment with an overhang for easy lifting and clean slicing.
- Cool the bars completely before glazing or the glaze will slide off.
- Stick to one 21-ounce can of filling. More than that and the bottom crust goes soft.
- Swap in blueberry, apple, peach, or strawberry filling using the same dough and bake time.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
YOU FORGOT TO PUT IN THE OVEN AT WHAT TEMP?
Fixed and thanks for letting us know! 350 degrees 🙂
These bars seem to be the most perfect sweet treat that I have ever seen! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I don’t know what I like more, the cherry filling or the shortbread crust! WOW!
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing cherry pie bars recipe! Will surely have this again! It’s really easy to make and it tasted so delicious! Highly recommended!