What to do with your bounty of Rainier cherries? (Besides shovel them directly into your mouth.) Make Rainier Cherry Bars! A thick and buttery shortbread crust with a sweet layer of Rainier cherries, topped with crumble. Originally published July 6, 2021.
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Last week we took a little road trip, and after we got started on the highway, Eric lamented that he had forgotten to bring nail clippers. Oh, no problem, I said, I brought a nail file.
You would have thought I had offered him a chainsaw. “A nail file? I’m not going to FILE MY NAILS. It would take hours. No, never.”
“Hours?? You’ve seriously never filed your nails? It takes like 10 minutes max.”
“No. I’m not doing that. What guy files his nails???”
What guy indeed!! Sorry for offending your manly ways Eric. I kept giggling about it and he kept saying, “This isn’t that funny.” Why does everything become funnier when someone tries to convince you it’s not funny?
He made it through the whole trip with extra long fingernails, but probably didn’t even notice because we were in DISNEYLAND!! Guys, it was so fun. I’m ruined for Disneyland trips forevermore. It will never top this trip. They are still at limited capacity, so all the lines were ridiculously short. And just a few days before we got to the park, they lifted the mask mandate.
And our kids are just the PERFECT ages for Disneyland, no one is too old or too young. But wait, Karen, don’t you have an 18-month-old baby who doesn’t have one single word in his vocabulary yet, who wails constantly about everything? Why yes I do, but get this: we left him at home with a friend. Oh yes we did.
You may call me heartless, but bringing a baby to an amusement park sounds like torture to be honest. He was happier at home anyway. It was the best trip ever! If you can get yourself to Disneyland in the next few months before they get back to 100% capacity, definitely do it!
Rainier cherries: the best cherries
More good news: Rainier cherry season is here! If you have never had Rainier cherries, you are in for a treat.
My uncle Larry is a master gardener. He has fruit trees all over his property, and recently he brought me a giant basket of Rainier cherries from his trees in the yard. What a guy, right?
I’ve lived in California my whole life, and this was still the first time I’d ever tried Rainiers. They are pretty rare! Rainier cherries are a variety of sweet cherry that are yellow in color, with a rosy red blush on the shoulders. They are very sweet and large in comparison to other cherry varieties. Some say they are like the champagne of cherries, a luxurious and rare treat.
Well compare it to whatever you want, they are freaking delicious. Creamy and sweet and tart. I was popping them like candy. If you get your hands on some, I dare you to make this recipe before you eat them all. It’s going to be tough.
What makes these bars special
If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ll know that I am slightly obsessed with shortbread bars. It all started with these Apple Pie Bars, but these days I basically slap any fruit I can get my hands on in between layers of buttery shortbread (like cranberry, rhubarb, and regular cherries.) It’s just my favorite!
So when I got my hands on a giant bucket of Rainiers, I knew exactly what I was making! You can see what’s coming…Rainier cherry pie bars for the win!
These bars are on a whole ‘nother level you guys. Rainier cherries are fleshy and sweet, and pair perfectly with a rich, buttery, not-overly-sweet crust.
I know these bars look like they are made with apricots or peaches. That yellow cherry color kind of confuses your brain! But rest assured, the flavor is all Rainier cherry. They are not like the Bing cherries that you are used to; they have a cherry flavor of their very own. Sandwiched between two layers of buttery shortbread, you really just can’t say no to these!
Featured Comment
“This was such a hit for my friend’s birthday! Everyone LOVED them and they were the first dessert gone. So good. Will definitely make it again!” – Shweta
Where to buy Rainier cherries
The farmer’s market is going to be your best bet. Call your local farms to see if they have any U-pick orchards. If you can’t find any locally, there are a few places that sell them online. Try The Fruit Company or Pak it Rite. If you live on the West coast you should be able to find them in grocery stores starting in May and into August, depending on the season and where you live.
Key ingredients
- You probably guessed that you’ll need Rainier cherries. If you can’t find them, I’ve had readers comment that they’ve substituted raspberries, blackberries, peaches, and more. You could also replace them with Bing cherries or another sweet cherry, or a sour cherry (make sure to add more sugar to the filling if using sour cherries).
- I adore the toasted walnuts in this (and trust me, it’s worth toasting them) but if you can’t do walnuts or don’t like them, feel free to leave them out, or sub pecans.
- Almond extract is my fave in buttery shortbread, especially when fruit is involved. If you don’t have it, you can sub in a lil more vanilla. But promise to try it sometime! It’s soooo good!
How to make Rainier cherry bars
First put together your shortbread crust. It’s just butter, sugar, vanilla, almond extract, flour and salt. Back to the basics, yo. This stuff is so simple and so good. I have to work really hard to not just eat it all as dough. Bake it up and set aside to cool.
Fold in some toasted walnuts to 1/3 of the dough for the topping and set aside.
Now it’s time to prep your cherries. I have a hack for you.
How to pit cherries with a straw
Do you have a cherry pitter? Maybe I’ll get one someday but until then, straws work like a charm! Metal straws are best, paper straws work okay, plastic straws are garbage (too flimsy to be forced through the cherry. Trust me, I tried to make it work, it doesn’t.)
Paper straws will eventually wimp out on your too, I probably went through 10 or so, using each end, to pit all the cherries I needed for this recipe. But I just had a genius idea, you could snip off the soggy end of the straw multiple times so you have a nice sturdy end until the straw is too small to use. Man, I wish I had thought of that yesterday when I was doing it!
Making Rainier cherry pie filling
Cook the cherries in some sugar and lemon juice until it is thick and the cherries have softened.
Pour it into your baked crust and top with the remaining dough with the walnuts. You can skip the walnuts if you like, but I really feel like they add a lot in this recipe! Bring on the crunch!
Storing leftovers
If you have incredible self-control and didn’t eat the whole pan, you can store these on the counter for 2-3 days. After that, it’s best to freeze them in a big ziplock or an airtight container. They’ll be good in the freezer for 2-3 months.
You can also freeze the filling on its own! Perfect for saving your bounty for a rainy day.
More shortbread bars you should try!
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Rainier Cherry Pie Bars
Ingredients
For the crust/topping
- 2 cups butter, softened (4 sticks)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 4 cups flour, spooned and leveled
- 1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
For the cherry filling
- 2 & 1/2 pounds Rainier cherries, pitted (about 8 cups cherries)
- 1 & 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, from 1 large lemon
- 1 & 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Begin by deciding if you want walnuts in your cherry pie bars. (You do.) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Spread 1/2 cup chopped walnuts over a dry baking sheet. Bake for about 5 minutes, stir, then continue baking in 2 minute increments, stirring every time, until the nuts are browned and quite fragrant. Remove from the oven and let cool.
- Meanwhile, line a 9×13 inch pan with parchment paper, or grease with nonstick spray or butter. Set aside.
- Make the shortbread crust. In a large bowl or stand mixer, add 2 cups of butter. Beat thoroughly for a couple minutes until the butter is smooth and there are no lumps. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Add 1 cup sugar. Continue beating for another 2 minutes, until the butter is light and fluffy.
- Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon almond extract, and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt. Beat to combine.
- Add 1 cup of flour, making sure you are spooning the flour into the measuring cup and leveling it off. Beat until combined. Add the remaining flour 1 cup at a time (total of 4 cups), beating each time. Make sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. If you are using a hand mixer, you might need to mix the last cup or two manually with a wooden spoon.
- Add about 2/3 of the dough to the prepared pan. (I like to separate the dough into chunks and spread them across the pan to make it easier to press in.) Use your hands to press the dough flat into the bottom of the pan. If your hands stick to the dough, lightly wet your hands. Place the pan in the fridge for about 20 minutes. Cold shortbread dough going into a hot oven is what gives you that perfect flaky texture.
- Add the completely cooled walnuts to the remaining 1/3 of the dough that's still in the mixing bowl. Mix the walnuts in, cover, and chill in the fridge while your crust bakes.
- Bake the crust. After a 20 minute chill in the fridge, bake the crust in the oven at 375 degrees F for about 18-20 minutes. (If you are using a glass pan, let the cold pan rest on the counter for about 2-3 minutes before putting it in the hot oven; you don't want to shatter your pan.) You will know the crust is done baking when the edges look golden brown and it is not shiny in the center. Set aside to cool.
- Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
- Make the cherry filling. Meanwhile, prep your cherries. Use a cherry pitter or a straw (a metal straw would work best) to pit 2 and 1/2 pounds cherries, or about 8 cups of cherries. Leave them whole, no need to halve them. Add the cherries to a 3 quart pot.
- Add 1 and 1/4 cups sugar, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1 and 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch, and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Stir together.
- Turn the burner on to high heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to maintain a strong bubbling simmer (Medium or medium high) and let boil for about 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. The cherries will soften a bit and the liquid will get thick. The mixture will foam and rise up a bit, this is normal.
- Pour the hot cherries onto the baked shortbread crust.
- Working quickly, add the remaining shortbread crust on top the cherries. You want your shortbread to stay as cool as possible, so don't take forever. I like to pinch the dough off with my fingers into pieces about the size of a quarter and scatter them over the top. It's okay if you can still see cherries through the topping. See photos. At this point, you could sprinkle a tablespoon or two of demerara sugar over the topping if you want an extra crunch.
- Make sure your oven has been lowered to 350. Bake the cherry pie bars for about 25-30 minutes, until the top is lightly browned.
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. If you are in a hurry (I always am!) you can let the bars chill in the fridge or freezer for a while to speed up the cooling process. Or you could cut into them after setting up for 10 minutes and eat them hot and warm with vanilla ice cream, although they will be a mess. Isn't a mess worth it sometimes though?
I made these for the 4th of July because we had an abundance of cherries on our trees. I used Rainiers and Bings but it looks like all bings because they color everything. Mine turned out really good and were easy to cut into bars. I did not pat down the crust dough, just spread it with a spatula since it wasn’t very stiff. Next time I will increase the corn starch just a touch, probably 2 T instead of 1 1/2 T. Thank you for this yummy recipe.
Thanks for sharing your tips Pat, that sounds delicious! Can’t go wrong with cherries no matter what kind :-)