Tart Cherry Cheddar Bars Food

CHERRY PIE BARS RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9" x 13" cake pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract and stir to combine.
• Sift flour over wet ingredients and stir until well combined. Transfer about ¾ of the dough into prepared cake pan and spread into an even layer. Place crust in oven to bake for 15 minutes while you prepare the filling and reserve remaining dough.
• In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice and 3 Tbsp granulated sugar until completely smooth.
• Remove crust from oven and spread cream cheese mixture evenly over crust. Spoon the pie filling over the cream cheese layer and evenly distribute the cherries. Drop remaining dough by the teaspoon-full, randomly over the top of the cherries.
• Bake 45-50 minutes or until top crust is cooked and light golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack.
• In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar, vanilla extract and just enough milk to reach a pourable consistency then drizzle the glaze over the top of bars. Allow glaze to set then slice and serve.

ALMOND CHERRY PEPITA BARS

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F. Coat an 8-inch square glass baking dish with cooking spray. Line the bottom with a piece of parchment or waxed paper leaving a 4-inch overhang on two opposite sides and spray the paper with cooking spray.
• Put 1 cup of the rice cereal in a resealable plastic bag and crush to a fine powder with the back of the measuring cup. Combine the remaining 1 cup rice cereal, pepitas, almonds and cherries in a large bowl. Heat the rice syrup and almond butter in a small saucepan until warm and bubbling and remove from heat. Stir in the almond extract and salt, and pour into the nut mixture. Fold with a spatula until it is everything is moistened and well combined. Add the crushed rice cereal and continue to fold until evenly incorporated.
• Press the mixture very firmly and evenly into the prepared pan using the overhanging pieces of parchment to prevent sticking. Bake until beginning to brown, about 25 minutes. Cool 15 minutes on a wire rack, then press again to compact the mixture. Chill until firm but not completely set , about 45 minutes. Remove the block by the paper handles and invert onto a cutting board. Gently peel off the paper. Cut the block in half, then cut each half into 6 bars for 12 total. Refrigerate until fully set.
• Store the bars individually wrapped or layered between sheets of parchment or waxed paper in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. The bars will soften up and become chewy as they come to room temperature.

CHERRY TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C
• For the pastry: Put the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter pieces, and pinch with the fingers to create a crumb texture. Make a well in the middle, and add the eggs. Quickly work in the flour mixture to create dough. Do not over-mix. Pat into a disk and refrigerate 15 minutes before rolling out. Fit into a 9-inch tart pan.
• For the filling: Arrange the cherries in the crust. Beat the eggs with the sugar, and then stir in the creme fraiche and vanilla. Pour the custard over the cherries. Bake until set, about 25 minutes. Cool before serving.

TART CHERRY CHEDDAR BARS

Steps:

• Line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides. Grease the foil. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
• Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in a food processor. Add the butter and cheese and pulse until the flour is pale yellow and coarse.
• Press half the flour mixture firmly into the prepared pan. Bake just until golden, about 15 minutes. Cool slightly. Spread the preserves evenly over the crust, then sprinkle the remaining flour mixture evenly over the preserves. Bake at 325° until the top is golden, about 25 minutes. Place on a wire rack and cool completely, about 1 hour.
• When cool, use the foil "handles" to lift the bar from the pan and cut.

QUICK AND EASY CHERRY BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the dough and spread the rest into the bottom of the prepared pan. Cover this layer evenly with cherry pie filling. Drop the rest of the dough by spoonfuls on top of the cherry layer and spread to cover the best you can.
• Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, until top is golden. Frost with a confectioners' glaze when cool for sweeter bars. Let cool completely before cutting into bars.

CHERRY TARTS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add enough water until dough forms a ball. Refrigerate for 30 minutes., Preheat oven to 450°. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut out eight 5-in. circles. Place each over an inverted custard cup on an ungreased 15x10x1-in. baking pan; flute edges. , Bake 10-11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes before removing tart shells from custard cups; cool completely on wire racks., For filling, in a large saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Drain cherries, reserving 1 cup juice. Set cherries aside. Stir reserved juice into sugar mixture until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in cherries, butter, almond extract and food coloring if desired. Cool to room temperature. Spoon about 1/4 cup filling into each tart shell.