Sour Cherry Almond Bars

Recipe by The View From the Great Island

Sour Cherry Almond Bars ~ these brown sugar and oatmeal cherry almond bars are officially my new favorite sweet snack! The cherries are nice and tart, the almond scented crumble dough is chewy and butterscotch-y ~ these are a must make!

Ingredients

• 1 cup ( 2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 packed cups brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp almond extract
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups rolled oats
• ½ cup sliced almonds
• 12 ounces sour cherry jam

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350F
2. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper with long ends. The parchment is optional, but helps with lifting out the bars for easy cutting later. If you don't line the pan, spray or butter it lightly.
3. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4. Beat in the egg, baking powder, and almond extract.
5. With the mixer on low, beat in the flour, one cup at a time, and then the oats. Finish the mixing by hand with a big spoon, and fold in the almonds.
6. Remove 2/3 cup of the dough and set aside for the topping. Then press the rest into the bottom of your pan. I like to crumble it all over the bottom first to distribute it, and then gently press with my fingers. Make sure to get the whole bottom surface covered.
7. Top the dough with the jam, spreading it out into an even layer, and then crumble the remaining dough in little pieces over the top.
8. Bake for about 35 minutes, just until the topping starts to turn golden.
9. Let cool in the pan, on a rack, and then gently lift the bars out with the ends of the parchment paper to cut them into 20 pieces.

View the recipe instructions at The View From the Great Island