Gluten Free Cherry Bars

Posted by on Monday, February 13th, 2012

Cherry-Bars

Has anyone been watching Pioneer Woman’s cooking show?  I am enjoying the show very much. A couple weeks back, she made some strawberry bars.  I knew I wanted to try to create a gluten free version since we have a couple people under this roof who have given up wheat.  These bars were fabulous and nobody would ever guess they are gluten free.  And I used some of my home made cherry preserves (from the tree my mother planted next door) instead of strawberry preserves.  They were such a hit I had to bake another batch for this post.  Pioneer Woman used plain flour in her bars – so if you do not want the gluten free version, just substitute plain flour for the gluten free baking mix in the recipe below. I also added nuts to my version.

  • 1 1/2 cups Bob’s Gluten Free Baking Mix
  • 1 1/2 oats (not quick cooking)
  • 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
  • 2 sticks firm butter cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
  • 1 16 oz jar (1 pint) cherry preserves

Butter a 9×13 baking pan and set it aside.  In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, and brown sugar and mix well. Add salt and baking soda. Add nuts if desired. Then use a pastry tool to cut the butter cubes into the flour/sugar/oat mixture.  Be patient – this takes a few minutes.  Mixture should be crumbly in texture.  Pour half of the mixture into the buttered pan and press firmly to evenly coat the bottom of the pan.  Then spread the preserves over the oat mixture.  Top with remaining oat mixture and gently press to flatten the top layer.  Place pan in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25-35 minutes, until bars are golden brown and bubbly.  Let bars cook completely before cutting.

Try different types of preserves.  I actually made a 3rd batch with strawberry preserves.  Those bars were a little sweeter than the cherry.  I think the family preferred the cherry bars to the strawberry bars.  The sour/tart cherries is a nice compliment to the sweetness of the brown sugar and the richness of the butter.

Filed in Breads, Doughs, and Crusts,Cookies, Candies, and Squares | 5 responses so far

5 Responses to “Gluten Free Cherry Bars”

  1. Andrea (questfordelish)on 15 Feb 2012 at 6:46 am 1

    I’m going to share these with a friend because she is always looking for glutten free recipes. Thanks for sharing.

  2. Taraon 15 Feb 2012 at 7:05 am 2

    Thanks for stopping by Andrea. You blog has some great recipes as well. Do you have a facebook page for your blog?

  3. Christineon 17 Dec 2012 at 7:36 am 3

    My family has recently become wheat free and someone made what I believe to be these bars at a gathering recently. They were fantabulous! I am going to make these and I hope they come out as good as these look.

  4. grayfireon 28 Apr 2013 at 12:39 am 4

    Hello 😀

    My sister is alergic to gluton so I’m always looking for yummy gluten free recipe’s. I was wondering if you knew if the oats would still be okay for a gluten intolerant person? I’ve read that there can be cross contamination… So I was wondering in the case I can’t use oats do you have a suggestion for a substitute?

  5. Taraon 28 Apr 2013 at 9:27 am 5

    Oats are naturally gluten free. However if they are processed and packaged inside a plant with other products containing gluten, they can be cross contaminated with gluten products or other grains. The oats I buy from the organic section of the grocery store say on the label they are gluten free and are processed in a gluten free environment. I would double check with your sister to find out if she totally avoids oats or has ever had any reaction to the gluten free oats. If so, I would definately avoid oat products. I am not sure what to substitute in place of the oats in this recipe unless you used an extra portion of gluten free baking mix, and perhaps add in some finely chopped nuts?