Brown Butter Cherry Bars Recipe with Fresh Cherries

I made these brown butter cherry bars recipe with fresh cherries a few years back for a dinner party. I liked them so much, I wanted to share them with you.

It’s cherry season at our farmer’s market and I couldn’t be happier. Cherries are probably one of my favorite fruits because they are sweet, tender and heart-shaped—so cute! I mostly like to eat them fresh, but this cherry bar recipe really makes the cherries the stars.

The cherry bars require a few extra steps. First, line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper to fake a tart pan and then make the bottom crust.

Next, you need to pit the cherries. I used this cherry pitter, but you could just use a pairing knife if you don’t want to invest in a pitter.

When you brown the butter, make sure to stir constantly and watch closely until the color changes to a deep nutty brown. Remove from the heat immediately and pour into a glass measuring cup, or bowl, so the butter doesn’t burn.

I wanted the cherries to make straight lines, so I poured the filling very slowly around the cherries so they would stay straight. A few of them fell over, so I rearranged them after the filling was added.

Make sure to watch the cooking time closely. The original recipe called for 40 minutes, but mine were done in just under 30 minutes.

These bars are so tasty. The brown butter gives them a deep rich flavor that pairs so well with the sweet cherries. Do you have a favorite cherry recipe? I’d love to hear about it!

Brown Butter Cherry Bars Recipe with Fresh Cherries

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:

Crust:
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt

Filling:
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 stick unsalted butter, diced
1 pound sweet cherries, pitted

Directions:

Make crust: Preheat over to 375°F. Cut two 12-inch pieces of parchment paper and trim each to fit the width of an 8×8-inch square baking pan. Press it into the bottom and sides of your pan in one direction, then use the second sheet to line the rest of the pan, perpendicular to the first sheet. The parchment paper will fake a tart pan and make removing the bars and clean-up a cinch.

Using a fork, mix melted butter, sugar, and vanilla in medium bowl. Add flour and salt and stir until incorporated. Transfer dough to your prepared pan, and use your fingertips to press the dough evenly across the bottom of the pan. Bake the crust until golden, about 18 minutes. Transfer crust to rack and cool in pan while you prepare the filling. Maintain oven temperature.

Make filling: Cook butter in a heavy, small saucepan over medium heat until deep nutty brown (do not burn), stirring often and watching carefully about five to six minutes. Immediately pour browned butter into glass measuring cup to cool slightly.

Whisk sugar, eggs, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Add flour and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk browned butter into sugar-egg mixture; whisk until well blended.

Arrange pitted cherries in the bottom of cooled crust. Carefully pour browned butter mixture evenly over the fruit. Bake bars until filling is puffed and golden and tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes (please watch your baking times carefully). Cool bars completely in pan on rack.

Use the parchment paper overhang to carefully remove cooled bars from pan and place them on a cutting board and cut them into squares with a very sharp knife. The cherries, if they fall over your slicing lines, will want to give you trouble but if you saw a sharp knife into them slowly before pressing down, they’ll cut neatly and with minimum carnage.