Summer’s the best time to use up all that fresh fruit like cherries, and there is a wonderful recipe for making the Best Cherry Bars that you might like. Cherries strike a perfect balance of sweetness and tartness yielding a rich, comforting flavor in dessert recipes. The recipe starts with a layer of delicious buttery crust that goes well with the tartness of cherries layered on top and garnished with crunchy nuts and icing. It’s the kind of dessert recipe that get an instant liking from everyone.

The simplicity of this recipe lies in the fact that you can use everyday ingredients that are probably already there in your kitchen pantry and still be able to make a delicious high-end bakery-style dessert. Easy dessert recipes are extremely convenient to make when you have an event planned at the last minute. If you do not have fresh cherries, you can use canned cherry filling during the offseason. You can also substitute any other fruit in the place of cherries if you want or simply use other canned fillings like the blueberry or strawberry. Fun desserts that are homemade with fresh fruits like cherries or any other fruits are incredibly refreshing as well.

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup butter, softened
• ½ cup shortening
• 1¾ cups sugar
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 21 ounce cans cherry pie filling (see NOTES)
• ½ cup sliced almonds, optional

Icing:

• 1½ cups confectioner’s sugar
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
• 3 – 4 teaspoons milk

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl beat butter and shortening with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds.
Add sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.
Beat in eggs, one at a time, and vanilla until combined.
Mix in the flour.
Reserve 1½ cups of the dough.
Spread remaining dough in the bottom of an ungreased 15x10x1-inch baking pan.
Bake for 12 minutes.
Spread pie filling over crust in pan. Spoon reserved dough into small mounds on top of pie filling. Sprinkle with nuts, if using.
Bake about 30 minutes more or until top is light brown. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
Drizzle top with icing. Cool completely.
To make icing, mix the confectioner’s sugar and extract in a small bowl. Add just enough of the milk to make a smooth icing that will drizzle.
Source : allrecipes.com