In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been posting a lot of recipes with fruit lately. I just can’t help it. Nothing makes me quite as excited as all the fresh and local fruit options from the greenmarket. This time of year is all about the produce and it seems like that’s all I want to eat. (Well that and the produce baked with lots of butter and sugar.)
I bought 3 pounds of cherries over the weekend and was determined to find recipes that would use at least 2 lbs. of them. After much searching and perusing all the blogs out there, I saw this recipe and knew I had to make it. I am obsessed with anything brown butter, and the combo of the rich nutty flavor and sweet and tangy cherries seemed perfect.
These bars turned out so well and I can’t wait to make them again with new flavor combos. I want to try them with raspberries or peaches! I followed Deb from Smitten Kitchen’s recipe to a T which isn’t something I normally do. Often I try to make it my own by switching a few things up, but this just looked so good that I couldn’t change a thing. The original recipe was actually for a tart in a fluted pan, but this one uses parchment paper lining to easily lift the bars right out. These are gooey and sweet and delicious. Buy a million cherries and make them!!
- Crust:
- 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
- Pinch of salt
- Filling:
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- Pinch of salt
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, diced
- 12 oz pitted cherries or other berries
- Preheat over to 375°F.
- Line an 8x8 baking dish with 2 pieces of parchment paper, with the bottom one hanging over the edges slightly, place the second one perpendicular to the first. (This will allow easy lifting of the bars when it's cooled.)
- Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add sugar and vanilla and whisk together. Add flour and salt and stir until incorporated. Transfer dough to your prepared pan, and use your fingertips to press the dough evenly across the bottom of the pan.
- Bake the crust until golden, about 18 minutes (it will puff slightly while baking). Transfer crust to rack and cool in pan. Maintain oven temperature.
- Make the filling: Cook butter in heavy small saucepan (a lighter-colored one will make it easier to see the color changing, which happens quickly) over medium heat until deep nutty brown (do not burn), stirring often and watching carefully, about six minutes. Immediately pour browned butter into glass measuring cup to cool slightly.
- Whisk sugar, eggs, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Add flour and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk browned butter into sugar-egg mixture; whisk until well blended.
- Arrange pitted cherries, or the berries of your choice, in bottom of cooled crust.
- Carefully pour browned butter mixture evenly over the fruit. Bake bars until filling is puffed and golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30-40 minutes (the large range allows for different ovens. Mine only needed about 33 minutes, but the original recipe states 40. Watch carefully!)
- Use the parchment paper overhang to carefully remove cooled bars from pan and place them on a cutting board and cut them into squares with a very sharp knife.
Source: Smitten Kitchen
Kelly @ Eat Yourself Skinny says
These are so pretty and look absolutely delicious! What a great recipe! :)
Kim Bee says
Wonderful recipe. I love using all the fresh ingredients right now. We may as well enjoy it while we can. This is gorgeous. I must try this one out. Thanks so much for sharing.
Cookin' Cowgirl says
Yum! Those are so pretty!!
Carolyn says
Those are just gorgeous. Love how each bar has a few whole cherries in it.
Erin says
The look so pretty with all the cherries in there! What a great recipe!
Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table says
I love these! Smitten Kitchen is a genius, isn’t she? I’m all for yet another way to use cherries. :)
Isabelle @ Crumb says
You had me at “gooey, sweet and delicious”. :) There’s nothing quite as perfect as an ooey, gooey, chewy bar… except maybe for one that’s got a cherry on top. I’m probably going regret this because I already gained 5 lbs just looking at your photos, but I’m going make these on the weekend for sure!
Becka (The Elegant Eggplant) says
I love Smitten Kitchen.. so inspiring to me. I think this would also be great with mixed berries :)
DD says
OMG!!!!! they look wonderful!!!!! very tempting!!!
Lacy says
Wow these look amazing! So pretty with the cherries! I’ve gotten some great recipes off of Smitten Kitchen, I’m sure these are no different. :)
infinebalance says
Oh those look yummy! need to find some cherries
Sandra says
Lovin the pictures, the cherries look so regal!
Sandra says
Audra those look phenomenal..I love rich cherry color, and you capture that very well! Great recipe and photos too!!!
Ann says
Absolutely stunning…I love cherries and I bet the browned butter gives it a terrific nutty flavor.
S.V. says
I love brown butter anything. These look very tasty!
Koci says
I definitely understand your brown butter kick–I’m in love with the stuff right now! These bars look seriously heavenly. Y-U-M. :D
Claire says
love the pictures! haven’t tried brown butter, i know i know i need too! looks the perfect recipe to try it
Elyse @The Cultural Dish says
These look absolutely scrumptious!
Lolly's Sweet Treats says
Cherries are one of my favorite fruits and I have been hoarding them recently because they are so cheap and delicious this time of year. I need to make this!
Digital Printing says
i like the way you arranged those cherries, it looks like dominoes. Very attractive and aside from that,it’s so nutritious and very soft bars!
The Harried Cook says
These are so gorgeous… Like little edible dominoes… I bet they taste every bit as delicious as they look! Thanks for sharing :)
Ama says
These look amazingly good! I could eat the whole darn pan! :)
Kevin says
Those cherry bars look so good!
Peggy Garbe says
You had me at brown butter!
Caroline Taylor says
These sound amazing and look wonderful. I bet the cherries are great with the brown butter.
color track says
The look so pretty with all the cherries in there! What a great recipe!