Cherry Bars 43

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Cherry Bars

stack of cherry brown butter blondie bars

Ah, summer fruits! My favorite part of summer has to be all the delicious summer fruits. Peaches, plums, watermelon, and our family favorite, cherries. Cherries are the ultimate symbol of summer. When cherries are found in the stores, you know summer is really here. Kids faces covered in sweet cherry juice, nothing better. My kids love to use the cherry pitter. If you do not have a cherry pitter and you bake with cherries, you really need to buy one.

bowl of cherries sitting on a table

Cherries are the perfect summer snack

Cherries are delicious on their own. Our big family goes through about 30 bags of cherries per summer, maybe more. While cherries are a great snack, they also taste great in desserts. I have found that the key to a good cherry dessert is using just the right amount of cherries. This brown butter cherry blondie bars recipe uses 1 cup of pitted and halved cherries. Pitting the cherries is a great job for the kids. My kids have been known to fight over the cherry pitter machine. Why can’t they fight over who will do the dishes?

bags of fresh cherries

Cherry Brown Butter Blondie Bars

Today’s recipe is a cherry bar. This is not an ordinary cherry bar, it is a Cherry Brown Butter Blondie bar. There are two parts of this recipe that are fairly easy to make. Kids can help with this recipe quite easily. The only hard part for the kids to do is making the brown butter. While an adult or older teen browns the butter the kids can pit the cherries. Cherry bars are a perfect dessert or picnic snack.

cherry brown butter blondie bars

Freeze or Dry your Cherries

Don’t wait too long to buy your cherries, the cherry season never lasts long enough. Cherries make a perfect on the go snack.  If you find yourself with an abundance of cherries you can freeze some. Rinse and dry your cherries and then pack them into a freezer Ziploc bag. You can then enjoy some cherries year-round. You can also dry your extra cherries. Simply wash and dry the cherries and then take out the pits and cut your cherries in half. Put the cherry’s skin side down onto your dehydrator tray. We love this dehydrator for making dried fruits and vegetables. Cherries dry at 140 degrees for 6-12 hours. Dried cherries are delicious in granola bars and cookies or when added to a trail mix. You can even add your dried cherries to a salad for a sweet treat.

 

If you are a visual person, here is a video showing you how to make these

What is your favorite way to eat cherries?

 

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Cherry Brown Butter Blondies

Cherry Brown Butter Blondies

Ingredients

  • Brown butter mixture:
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • Blondie:
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • ½ cup applesauce
  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 cup pecans, chopped in small pieces
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup (packed) brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup cherries, take out pits and stems, and slice in quarters
  • Vanilla ice cream (optional for topping)

Instructions

  1. Prepare the brown butter mixture:
  2. Cook the butter in a small pan over medium heat, keep stirring, until the butter foams.
  3. It will soon become brown, this takes 5-10 minutes.
  4. Pour the brown butter into a medium bowl and let it cool slightly.
  5. After it is cool, add the egg, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt and beat until the mixture is light, about 3 minutes.
  6. Fold in the flour gently.
  7. Prepare the Blondie:
  8. Preheat the oven to 350°.
  9. Butter a 13x9" dish and dust with a little flour, or just spray with nonstick baking spray.
  10. Toast the pecans on a baking sheet, tossing until slightly dark and fragrant, about 8-10 minutes. Watch them carefully so they do not burn and then let them cool.
  11. In a large bowl combine baking powder, salt, and 2 1/4 cups flour.
  12. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the brown sugar and butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
  13. Add the applesauce.
  14. Add the eggs ,one at a time, beating between each one until the mixture is pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
  15. Add in vanilla.
  16. Reduce the speed of the mixer to low and mix in the dry ingredients.
  17. Fold in the pecans and the cherries.
  18. Scoop two-thirds of this batter into your prepared dish.
  19. Smooth out the top, spreading the batter to edges.
  20. Then alternate, make spoonfuls of the brown butter mixture and then the remaining blondie batter on top.
  21. Smooth it out and sprinkle remaining pecans over.
  22. Bake until the blondie is golden brown and firm (a toothpick will probably not come out clean), 30-40 minutes.
  23. Let it cool before trying to slice it.
  24. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
https://cookwith5kids.com/2020/08/cherry-bars/

cherry blondie bars pinterest pin

This post was sponsored by Northwest Cherry Growers. All thoughts, photos, opinions, and recipes are 100% our own.

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