Cherry Crumble Bars
I firmly believe that everyone should attempt to pit cherries by hand at some point during their lifetime. You know, like a bucket list item.
Then, after you’ve butchered 5 or 6 cherries, semi-permanently stained your fingers and the surrounding countertop/cabinets/floor/everywhere, and nearly sliced off your fingertips twice, just go out and buy yourself a proper cherry pitter.
It’s worth the thirteen bucks. I promise.
This story starts just like every other that I’ve told about my weird food cravings, habits, likes/dislikes: once upon a time, I was young and foolish and didn’t like [insert food item here]. Now that I’m older and still foolish wiser, I’ve finally realized what I’m missing out on – and have spent the better part of the last month stuffing my face with said food item. Until I didn’t like it… again. But for a different reason this time.
Hey, at least I’m consistent… right?
The star of today’s thriller is the cherry. Now I don’t mean the fire engine red, sugar-laden, maraschino variety found in Shirley Temples and other (boozy) cocktails – I’m talking about those sweet, crimson, heart-shaped cherries – i.e., the real deal. As a child, I didn’t understand them (those stupid pits!) – which obviously meant that I hated them. Enter: child logic.
Alas! I’ve finally come to my senses – and have no issue devouring an entire pound of cherries in one sitting. So I figured I’d jump on board the summertime cherry train and make you something delicious. and… HEALTHY!
Now before you scurry away in search of something less earthy-crunchy/rabbit-food-like and more buttery/delicious, let me just tell you one thing: these cherry crumble bars were actually described by my trusty taste-testers using the words ‘buttery’ and ‘delicious’. Yea, you read that right: buttery & delicious. boom.
So there’s a lazy way to do this… and by lazy, I mean normal (i.e., sometimes it’s okay to use shortcuts). I, on the other hand, wanted an excuse to buy and use a cherry pitter asap (Amazon Prime, you kill me) – so I made it complicated and decided to make my own sweet cherry jam, instead of just buying some at the grocery store. You’re welcome :)
I’d you don’t feel like trying your hand at pitting cherries or making your own quick jam, skip ahead to the recipe for the cherry crumble bars. I promise I won’t feel judged. Otherwise, join me for a quick show and tell in how to make your very own sweet cherry jam in 20 minutes or less – keeping in mind that 10 of those minutes are spent pitting cherries!
First things first – we all know I’m not this creative. That, and I hated cherries up until about ten minutes ago, so I obviously hadn’t been experimenting with cherry recipes all my life. That being said, Jennifer is the mastermind behind these sweet, delicious cherry recipes. Her blog is chock full of tasty (and good for you!) recipes, as well as lots of fun tips and tricks for healthy eating. Check that shiz out. And then make some jam, yo.
Sweet Cherry Jam
What you’ll need:
– a large sauté pan
– 2 1/2 cups of cherries
– juice from half a lemon (roughly 1 tablespoon)
– 1 teaspoon of your sweetener of choice (adjust accordingly, depending on how sweet you want your jam)
First step: pit your cherries! As I mentioned, this was the most time-consuming part of the recipe for me – though probably because I kept stopping to clean up the splatters of cherry juice that I managed to get everywhere – though you could probably just use your cherry pitter correctly and then this wouldn’t be an issue! Cut the cherries in half and place in your sauté pan, adding the lemon juice and sweetener (I used raw cane sugar).
Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. About five minutes in, your cherries will start to soften; mash them with a fork or the back of spoon, keeping in mind that it’s okay to have large chunks of cherries still swimming around. Cook for another five minutes or until the consistency is thicker and jam-like.
Voilà! A simple and quick cherry jam that can be stored it in a mason jar – which obviously makes it that much MORE amazing. I’ve enjoyed it on toast, over ice cream, or even on my pb&j! and of course, in these cherry crumble bars :)
- Filling
- 1½ cherry preserves (or homemade Sweet Cherry Jam)
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup (optional)
- Base
- ¾ old fashioned oats
- ¾ cup oat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup water
- Crumble
- ¼ cup almond flour or almond meal
- ¼ cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
- ¼ cup oat flour
- ¼ cup old fashioned oats
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
- 2 tablespoon coconut sugar
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and spray an 8" x 8" pan with cooking spray.
- Make the Base: In a medium bowl, combine the oats, oat flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Then add the applesauce, maple syrup, vanilla and water and mix well. Pour into the pan and press down firmly with fingers.
- Prepare the Filling: In a small bowl, combine the cherry preserves (or Sweet Cherry Jam, see Notes below) with maple syrup; pour on top of prepared base in pan.
- Create the Crumble: In your medium bowl, combine all remaining dry ingredients; melt the coconut oil and add to mixture. Using a fork or your fingers, mix until crumbly and then sprinkle over top cherry filling.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until top is golden and firm. Cool 20 to 25 minutes before slicing into bars.
If you have a store-bought jam that isn't quite sweet enough for your taste buds, add a teaspoon of maple syrup, as noted in the recipe above.
For the Base
If you don't have any oat flour on hand, toss some old fashioned oats in your food processor and pulse until finely ground (for this recipe, some larger/whole oats are okay). Similarly, you can do the same if you don't have almond flour - toss some almonds (whole or sliced) into a food processor and pulse until finely ground.
For the Crumble
Instead of coconut sugar, brown sugar or organic cane sugar can be used.
GLUTEN FREE: to make this recipe gluten-free, make sure to use GF oats and oat flour.
Recipe From: Peanut Butter & Peppers | Cherry Pie Crumble Bars
And, as a side note – for the sake of all that is cherry and delicious, please please PLEASE pay attention to measurements! Not just in this particular recipe, but in ALL recipes, ever.
…because, after half a bottle of wine, sometimes you forget that 1/2 cup is NOT the same as 3/4 cup, and then you have to throw out your cherry crumble bars because the consistency is twenty-seven shades of awful. You know what I’m saying?
