Cherry Kuchen Bars

Cherry Kuchen Bars – These amazing bars combine the wonderful flavor of traditional cherry pie, sweet vanilla cake and sugar cookies all in one sweet dessert finished with a simple vanilla glaze!

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Cherry Kuchen Bars are the perfect summer dessert! Made with a shortbread crust, they are filled with a sweet cherry filling and topped with a streusel topping. They are simple to make and can be easily tailored to your liking. 

These dessert bars are always a crowd pleaser and they can feed a crowd, so they’re perfect for taking to picnics and potlucks. They are made in slab form and can be cut into small or larger pieces.

HOW TO MAKE CHERRY KUCHEN BARS

For this fun, summertime treat, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• Butter
• Shortening
• Sugar
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Eggs
• Vanilla
• Flour
• Cherry pie filling
• Powdered sugar
• Milk

Once you have gathered all of your ingredients, you’ll want to follow the steps below!

PREPARING THE KUCHEN DOUGH

Begin by preheating the oven to 350º Fahrenheit. Prepare a 10×15-inch baking pan by spraying it with cooking spray, then set aside and follow these steps for making the dough!

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, shortening, and sugar until smooth.
2. Add baking powder and salt.  Beat again.
3. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat again.
4. Add flour, 1 cup at a time, beating well in between.

Set aside 1 ½ cups of dough and start assembling the bars.

ASSEMBLING THE CHERRY KUCHEN BARS

1. Press the remaining dough into the prepared baking pan and bake for 12 minutes, then remove from the oven.
2. Spread the cherry pie filling over top. 
3. Place pieces of the dough that was set aside on top of the cherry filling.
4. Bake for an additional 30 minutes or until the dough pieces on top begin to turn golden brown.

PREPARING THE ICING

To make the icing, whisk the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk together.  Add enough milk so you are able to drizzle the icing.

ADDING THE ICING

Cool the bars completely before drizzling the icing over top.

When the icing is drizzled and you can’t wait any longer to taste these bars, go ahead and cut them to enjoy!

CAN I USE OTHER FRUIT FILLING?

Absolutely! Just about any kind of fruit filling will work. Peach, blueberry, raspberry, and strawberry will all be wonderful in this classic dessert.

You could also make your own fruit filling rather than buying store-bought if you wish!

HOW DO I STORE LEFTOVER KUCHEN BARS?

You can cover the whole pan with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator. Or, you can remove each bar and wrap them individually. The bars will last in the refrigerator for up to three days.

CAN YOU FREEZE KUCHEN BARS?

Yes, you can! Simply wrap the bars well with two layers of plastic wrap. Then, place them in airtight containers or ziploc freezer bags. Kuchen bars will keep in the freezer for several months.

MORE DELICIOUS DESSERT BARS TO TRY

• Cherry Cheesecake Bars
• Cranberry Crumble Bars
• S’mores Bars
• Raspberry Crumble Bars

Cherry Kuchen Bars

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These amazing bars combine the wonderful flavor of traditional cherry pie, sweet vanilla cake and sugar cookies all in one sweet dessert finished with a simple vanilla glaze!

• Prep Time: 18 minutes
• Cook Time: 42 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Author: Sara
• Yield: 30 bars 1x

Ingredients

For the Bars

• ½ cup butter, softened
• ½ cup shortening
• 1 ¾ cups sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2– (21-ounce) cans cherry pie filling

For the Icing

• 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2–3 tablespoons of milk

Instructions

For the Bars

1. Preheat oven to 350º Fahrenheit.
2. Prepare a 10×15-inch baking pan by spraying it with cooking spray. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, shortening, and sugar until smooth.
4. Add baking powder and salt.  Beat again.
5. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat again.
6. Add flour, 1 cup at a time, beating well in between.
7. Set aside 1 ½ cups of dough.
8. Press remaining dough into prepared baking pan.
9. Bake for 12 minutes and remove from oven.
10. Spread cherry pie filling over top. 
11. Place pieces of the dough that was set aside on top of cherry filling.
12. Bake for an additional 30 minutes or until top begins to turn golden brown.

For the Icing

1. To prepare icing, whisk powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk together.  Add enough milk so you are able to drizzle the icing.
2. Cool bars completely before drizzling the icing over top.
3. Cut and serve.