Prep: 30 min Cook: 1 hour 15 min Total: 1 hour 45 min Yields 32 bars Cherry Pie Bars

32 ounces cherries

If using fresh cherries, rinse and pit cherries. if using frozen cherries, thaw them and drain excess liquid. Set aside.

Crust and Topping

1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan and line with parchment paper so that the paper hangs over the sides of the pan.

3 cup all-purpose flour

1 ½ cup sugar

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, and sea salt with an electric hand mixer on low until well blended.

1 ½ cups butter (3 sticks), cut into cubes

With mixer running on low speed, add butter a few cubes at a time, blended as you go. Increase speed to high once added and blend until the mixture is crumbly and no larger than peas.

Using a measuring, reserve 1 ½ cup of the mixture and place in the fridge to use as a crumb topping later.

Take remaining mixture and spread in prepared pan, pressing down with a spatula to form an even, firm crust.

Bake at 350°F until light golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Remove baking sheet from oven and let crust cool before adding fruit topping.

Cherry Filling

2 cup sugar

¾ cup all-purpose flour

pinch of fine sea salt

While the crust bakes, in a large bowl, whisk together sugar, flour, and sea salt.

4 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

Add eggs and sour cream, whisking until smooth.

reserved cherries

Add reserved cherries and gently fold into mixture.

Once crust has baked and cooled, pour filling on top of crust and spread out.

reserved crumb topping

Remove reserved crumb topping from fridge and evenly sprinkle over cherry filling.

Bake at 350°F until top is golden brown and fruit mixture is bubbling, about 50 to 55 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool completely before removing from pan and cutting into bars, about 3 hours.

Leftover bars will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

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Licensed from https://www.makebetterfood.com/recipes/cherry-pie-bars/