Door County Cherry Bars
"This recipe is from The Back Street Deli in Eagle, Wisconsin. Eagle is in Door County, and Door County is an area known for its wonderful cherries (and it is among the major producers of cherries in the U.S.)These are a delicious bar just as they are, but they are also great when you put 1/4-1/2 cup of white baking chips on top during the last 5 minutes of baking. Of course, the original recipe calls for Door County cherries, but any sweet cherry may be used (they suggest Bing)."
- Ready In:
- 1hr
- Ingredients:
- 10
- Serves:
-
12
ingredients
- 1 1⁄4 cups flour, divided
- 1⁄2 cup butter, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
- 1 cup cherries, frozen (do not thaw)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2⁄3 cup sugar
- 1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
- 3⁄4 cup walnuts, chopped
directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and butter an 8 x 8" square baking pan.
- BOTTOM LAYER: Combine 1 cup of flour, the butter, and the confectioners' sugar in a bowl.
- Beat until smooth.
- Pat mixture into the prepared pan with fingers, and bake for 25 minutes or until golden.
- TOP LAYER (THIS SHOULD BE MADE WHILE THE BOTTOM LAYER IS IN THE OVEN): In a small bowl, toss frozen cherries with vanilla; set aside.
- In a large bowl, slightly beat the eggs.
- Gradually add the sugar and beat until they are thick and light.
- Add the remaining 1/4 cup flour, baking powder, and salt to the bowl and stir with a spoon until blended.
- Stir in the walnuts and cherry-vanilla mixture.
- Immediately spread the cherry mixture over the hot bottom layer and return the pan to the oven.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until the bars are a deep golden brown.
- Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack before serving.
Questions & Replies
Got a question?
Share it with the community!
Reviews
-
These cherry bars are very impressive to look at, and I love the fact that the recipe calls for real cherries rather than pie filling. As written, I thought they weren't quite sweet enough. I imagine they'd be fantastic with white chocolate on top as suggested in the recipe note. Next time, I'll increase the sugar to 1 cup, and drizzle with a white chocolate ganache. Thanks very much! -
This is the best cherry bar ever! I used marschino cherries once and it was just as good! -
I forgot to rate it! Sorry! -
Hi - I live in WI and Eagle is not in Door County. There is an Eagle, WI, but it is in Waukesha County. I grew up going to Door County and wonder what town these came out of, could it be Egg Harbor? A mystery! Just fyi - Door County is famous for cherries and any recipe with them is amazing, in my book! Thanks for sharing. -
These tasted great, but even an hour after sticking in the oven, they were still runny inside. Maybe I did something wrong, but I followed the recipe exactly. I did use an oven thermometer. At 350, the top was done, but underneath was a runny mess. I just dumped it in a bowl and called it cherry cobbler!
see 4 more reviews
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Vino Girl
United States
My husband and I married straight out of college in July of 1992. I work as the Assistant Manager at a wine shop which allows me to drink on the job! (OK, not that much, but it's still a fun job...) Besides helping customers choose wine they will like (and also help with food and wine pairings for their menus), I also get to help with the catering end of the business, so I get to spend a fair amount of time in the kitchen making fun appetizers and beautiful food displays. I also work part-time at the fromagerie next door. So yeah - that means I eat on the job, too. :^D
We live on several peaceful wooded acres on a cute little river in rural NE Wisconsin, with a cranky old-lady Burmese and whatever stray outdoor cats that have decided to adopt us on any given day. The cute puppy in the picture is Jake, our Elhew-bred English Pointer that we brought home on Easter weekend 2007. I've also got 2 painted turtles named Dennis and Fuzz, and a bunch of fish (koi and goldfish, along with the guppies & swordtails in the turtle tank).
I USUALLY eat and cook healthy, but I rarely pass up dessert, either. I do not eat red meat, and try to limit other animal products, too. I love to bake, although I seem to collect a lot of scone and biscotti recipes which I NEVER get around to making. I bake and eat A LOT of cookies and muffins... I almost always reduce the sugar by 1/4 and use whole wheat pastry flour for at least part of the flour. Those two changes do so much to make recipes healthier without compromising taste. I try to reduce fat whenever I can, too, but while I want to eat healthy, I still want to ENJOY what I eat!!!
I seem to give a lot of 4 and 5 star reviews here - I seem to have a pretty good sense of what I like by looking at a recipe before I try it. Thank you to anyone that tries my recipes in return, or photographs them.
Amber:
<img src="http://netnet.net/~mkburie/amber2.jpg">
........And a grown up Jake (one year old in January 2008) :) -
<img src="http://netnet.net/~mkburie/JAKE111307.JPG">
Charlotte (May 27, 1992-June 1, 2009):
<img src="http://netnet.net/~mkburie/Charlott.jpg">
Ashley: Adopted October 8, 1996 - Passed Away January 6, 2009
<img src="http://netnet.net/~mkburie/ashley2.jpg">
Mike: September 26, 1994 - March 19, 2004<img src="http://netnet.net/~mkburie/mike1997-lr.JPG">....
<a href='http://www.niftymaps.com/visitor-map.php?id=36321'><img src='http://i.niftymaps.com/36321.png' alt='Click to zoom in on my visitor map!' border='0'></a>Create your free world <a href='http://www.niftymaps.com/' target='_blank'>visitor maps</a>
