Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Do you have any fun plans? Being a family with young kiddos our Valentine’s look a little different than they use too. Instead of a fancy and romantic dinner out, our evening usually consists of a night in at home. The past several years the kids and I have had fun making a “special dinner” to celebrate. Since one of my husband’s favorite desserts is cherry pie, I tend to lean towards a cherry dessert around Valentine’s Day.
These Cherry Pie Bars are great for the occasion. I no longer have fresh cherries in my freezer so the canned version works well this time of year and also the red color is super festive. If you were feeling extra creative, you could serve the bars as little heart shapes. The added almond extract give the bars an extra added flavor that is hard to resist.
If you have young kiddos, like me…make up a quick batch of some of these fun snacks to share with them too:
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp almond extract
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 (21 oz) cans cherry pie filling
- Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp almond extract
- 2-3 Tbs milk
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time beating well after each addition. Beat in extracts. Gradually add in flour until well combined.
- Spread apprx 3 cups of dough on a greased 15x10" baking pan. Spread cherry pie filling evenly over top.
- Drop remaining dough by teaspoonful over the filing
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.
- Cool completely on wire rack
- In a small bowl prepare the glaze, mix powdered (confectioners) sugar, extracts and enough milk to reach desired consistency and drizzle over top.
Be sure to try some of these other fun Valentine’s Desserts:
Strawberry Cream Cheese Slab Pie
