CHERRY ALMOND BARS

CHERRY ALMOND BARS image

Yield 12 bars

Number Of Ingredients 15

1 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature, for pan
Fruit Filling
3 cups (18 oz) cherries, pitted and halved if small or quartered if large
1/2 cup (3.5 oz)granulated sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
zest and juice of 1 lemon
Crust and Topping
2 1/4 cups (11.25 oz) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter a 9" square baking pan. To make the fruit filling, combine the cherries, sugar, cornstarch, salt, lemon zest and lemon juice in a saucepan over med-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and boil for 1 minute to thicken. To make the crust and topping, combine the flour, brown sugar, almonds and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and process until crumbly. Add the egg and vanilla nd pulse just until the mixture comes together. Press 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan, then pour in the cherry filling. Press clumps of the remaining crumb mixture over the cherry filling. Bake in the middle of the oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until light golden brown and bubbling around the edge. Cool for 1 hour before cutting into bars. Stored in an airtight container at room temp, the bars will last for up to 4 days.