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As I have mentioned a time or two [or 50!], my husband is rather fond of cookies. When our house is in a state of no cookies, it makes him a sad, sad man.
So you can probably imagine that he is a huge fan of this time of year.
He doesn’t think of it as “Christmastime”, like the rest of us do.
To Larry, this is “cookietime”. And now that he is retired, he can devote himself even more fully to the testing of whatever new cookies I am trying out for the blog this year. This makes him a happy happy man.
And since it is Christmas time, and I don’t want to end up on the naughty list, I have to admit that this recipe actually is not new this year. It was on my old blog a few years ago, and, as it is infinitely adaptable as to what dried fruit and what sort of nuts you use, it has seen a whole lot of permutations. You could even leave out the chocolate chips if such an insane idea appeals to you.
Sour Cherry Almond Bars are super fast and easy to get in the oven, they keep fresh nearly forever, and they have a deeply satisfying rich and chewy texture. The perfect “filler” cookie for party and gift plates, and they don’t seem at all like a filler, because they are so good. But a “filler” is a cookie that you get baked in a hurry, with little fuss or muss, and in that regard, these are perfect!
Sour Cherry Almond Bars
Ingredients
- 1 stick [4 ounces] of butter melted
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon pure almond extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup dried sour cherries slightly chopped
- 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 sliced toasted almonds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º, and generously butter an 8 x 8" pan or flat baking dish.
- In a medium bowl, combine the melted butter and brown sugar.
- One at a time, beat in the eggs, and then the extracts.
- In a smaller bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder.
- Mix the dry ingredients into the butter mixture.
- Mix in the cherries, chocolate chips and almonds.
- Spread the batter evenly in the pan.
- Bake for about 28 minutes - a toothpick inserted near the center should come out clean.
- Cool in the pan, then cut into squares or rectangles to serve. Store leftovers tightly wrapped at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Other suggestions for versions we have really enjoyed are raisins and toasted walnuts, dried apricots and toasted pecans, coconut and roasted peanuts or any combination of these or any other dried fruit and nuts. You can change up the chocolate too – milk or white chocolate instead of the bittersweet. It’s all good!
Apple Crisp Bars
Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownies
Quick and Easy Chocolate Snack Cake
Cinnamon Pecan Blondies
Coconut Blondies
Apple Butter Caramel Bars
Molasses Spice Bars
Molasses Crinkles Cookies
Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies
Whole Wheat Gingerbread Brownies
My husband is a huge cookie fan too and Christmas time is pure happiness for him.
So now , thanks to you, I will surprise him with these delightful almond bars!
Very cool, Daniela – I hope he loves them!
My husband shares the same passion for the cookies, esp. those made with nuts. These nutty cookie bars look scrumptious!
Thanks Angie – we are big fans of nutty cookies!
One of my OXO containers is filled with dried cherries, so ya…LOVE these.
LOL – I try to keep one of those too, Amy – though we have a tendency to eat them up!
Love how simple it seems to make these, and definitely love the cherry-chocolate-almond combo! Love it!
Me too Patricia – they are one of my first go-tos if I need some cookies in a hurry 🙂
I love making bars too since they are so much easier than cookies but taste just as good!
Totally agree Meg- in fact, I have to make an effort to come up with other kinds of cookie recipes, because I love bar cookies so much!
Almond and cherry? Yes, please — such a terrific combo. These are lovely — thanks. And I hope you have a wonderful holiday season!
These bars are so holiday worthy, I would happily bake them in giant batches to share with the neighbourhood 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
I am a sucker for cherries so these bars have really caught my attention! Love the addition of the almonds!
Wishing you and your family a wonderful holiday season!
Hi Donalyn,
Whew! I’ve tried a couple of times to leave a comment on your Mac n Cheese post but for some reason, I’m having quite the time. I’m guessing it’s because I’m not on FB and the sign in as a guest thing with tap influence just doesn’t like me. I’m guessing you didn’t get my invite to add David’s book to Cookbook Wednesday either…Anyway, I finally thought I would try a different post and thankfully, not only do I get yummy Sour Cherry Almond Bars, I get to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas! Thanks for sharing, Donalyn…