cherry pie bars

Hi friends! Today we're talking pie, cherries, and flaky, buttery crust. Are you in? I hope you are because these bars are delicious. 

These bars start the way everything in life should start, with a buttery, flaky crust. Seriously, the crust of these bars might be everyone's favorite part. I'd guess it's because the foundation of these bars is loaded with butter, sugar, and lemon zest. How could you go wrong with that? Answer: you most certainly can't. 

The filling of these bars? Also delectable. It's a silky filling of eggs, sugar, greek yogurt, flour, and of course, cherries. Buttery, flaky crust topped with a silky filling and cherries? Sign me up!

Cherry Pie Bars

adapted from Annies Eats

For the Crust

1 1/2 cups cake flour

3/4 cups sugar

pinch salt

zest of a lemon

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold

For the Filling

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 cup greek yogurt

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

pinch of salt

juice of a lemon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

16 ounces cherries, cut in half and pitted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 9x9 pan with aluminum foil.

Pulse flour, sugar, salt, zest, and butter in a food processor until crumbly. Reserve 3/4 cup of the mixture and set aside for the topping. Press the remainder of the crust mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes or until bubbly and the edges are light golden. Let cool for 10 -12 minutes before adding the filling mixture.

Meanwhile in a large bowl, whisk together all filling ingredients except the cherries. Mix until smooth and creamy then gently fold in the cherries. 

Pour filling mixture over cooled crust and top with the reserved topping mixture. Bake for 45 minutes or until bars are just set and topping is just beginning to brown. Cool completely. Bars should be chilled for a few minutes before being sliced.