Chocolate Chip Cherry Bars — Not sure what to make with cherries? These cherry bars use my favorite blondie base and turn out perfectly every single time! These bars are seriously so good and are a reader favorite!
Ooey Gooey Chocolate Cherry Bars
This cherry dessert recipe has been a reader favorite since July 2012. Here it is again for the newcomers.
Have you been buying your weight in summer fruit every time you go to the grocery store or pass a farmers market? Okay, well I have. Especially cherries.
I love cherries. They are just so perfect. Their sweetness, their hearty flesh, the chewiness. The only thing not perfect about them are their little pits. Pits are a PITA.
I do have a cherry pitter, but I find it just splatters cherry juice everywhere and doesn’t always poke out the pit. More misfires than proper pokes. If the cherry pit is slightly off-center, the gadget just stabs the cherry down the middle, misses the pit, and said cherry juice splatters even more, so I tend to just slice the cherries with a paring knife and am pretty fast with that.
I’m also pretty fast with polishing off a one-pound bag of fresh cherries. But between the watermelon, nectarines, blueberries, grapes, standard issue bananas and apples, and then the cherries, even I was running out room. In both my stomach and crisper drawer.
So I decided to make chocolate chip cherry bars. The beauty of this cherry dessert recipe is that it’s fast, one-bowl, and no mixer is required.
I almost used white chocolate chips but then thought, no, semi-sweet chocolate and cherries just go together. After all, dark chocolate-covered cherries are the confections that overpriced Valentine’s Day candy assortment boxes are made of.
Because of the fruit and the fruit juices released while baking, to say they’re moist and juicy is an understatement.
There’s no granulated sugar in them; just brown sugar. In cookie baking, a higher ratio of brown to white sugar keeps cookies extra soft and moist, and it does the same thing for blondies. It also imparts a caramely-buttery richness that I adore.
The chocolate chips melted everywhere. Can you say hot, juicy, beautiful mess? Cherries and summer fruit never tasted so good.
What’s in These Chocolate Cherry Bars?
For these amazing chocolate chip cherry bars, you’ll need:Â
- Unsalted butter
- Light brown sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Fresh cherries
Seriously, that’s all you need to make this easy cherry dessert!
How to Make Chocolate Chip Cherry Bars
- Melt a stick of butter in a big mixing bowl in the microwave.
- Then stir in the brown sugar, an egg, vanilla, and flour.
- Fold in the cherries (and maybe a few raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, or blueberries) and chocolate chips and you’re ready to bake.
- You’ll know these chocolate cherry bars are ready to come out of the oven when the edges start to pull away from the pan and the center is set. Depending on how gooey you like your blondies, you may want to bake these for a little more or less time than the recipe calls for.Â
- Cool them properly and well before digging in!
Can This Recipe Be Doubled?
Most likely, yes! I’ve only made this cherry recipe as written, but you should be fine to double the ingredients and bake in a 9×13-inch pan.
Should I Use Fresh or Frozen Cherries?
Although I have experimented and made these bars with frozen cherries and although they theoretically work, frozen cherries tend to release too much juice into the batter and the resulting bars tend to be extremely soft.
For much more of a guarantee that the bars will work for you and set up without worry, I recommend fresh cherries.
Can I Make These Bars with Dried Cherries?
If you have dried cherries on hand, I recommend making my Cranberry Chocolate Chip Blondies (just use dried cherries instead of cranberries, it’ll definitely work!). It’s pretty much the same recipe, but I know for sure that one works well with dried fruit.Â
Can I Add Other Fruits?
If you want to use a combination of fresh cherries and other stone fruits like plums, nectarines, peaches, apricots, pluots, or similar, they will work just fine.
You can also try berries such as blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, or blackberries.
How to Store Chocolate Chip Cherry Bars
These chocolate cherry bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Can the Bars Be Frozen?
Yes! You can freeze these chocolate chip cherry bars for up to 3 months. Let them cool completely on your counter, then slice and store in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container.
When you’re ready to enjoy them, either reheat them in the oven until the chocolate starts to get gooey, or set them on your counter to thaw.
Tips for Making Cherry Bars
You can doctor these up with white chocolate chips or coconut flakes, or add most any other type of fruit from peaches to blackberries, fresh or frozen. I’ve tried many combos of fresh, frozen, half-and-half, and things always work out with this blondie base.
Note that baking times will vary based on the types of fruit used and the moisture content of the fruit; and how gooey you like your blondies.
A toothpick inserted into the middle may not come out clean due to the chocolate chips or juicy fruit. So use your best judgement when taking these babies out of the oven!
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Chocolate Chip Cherry Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted (1 stick)
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt, optional
- ¾ to 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup cherries, fresh or frozen*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a medium microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter, about 60 seconds.
- To the melted butter, add the brown sugar and stir to combine.
- Add the egg, vanilla, and stir to combine. Add the flour, salt, and stir until just combined, taking care not to over mix or the blondies will be tough.
- Fold in chocolate chips, fruit (I don’t halve the cherries: I like them chunky and big), and pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing it lightly with a spatula or offset knife if necessary.
- Bake for 27 to 32 minutes, or until edges begin to slightly pull away from sides of pan and center is set.**
- Allow bars to cool for at least 1 hour before slicing and serving. Blondies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 3 months.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Cherry Desserts:
You can find all of my CHERRY RECIPES HERE. Some of my favorite cherry desserts are below.
Cherry Cream Pie — An old-fashioned pie with homemade scratch crust topped with NO-BAKE layers of sweetened cream cheese along with juicy cherry pie filling!! If you like cherry pie, you’re going to LOVE this amped up version!!
Soft Cherry Bread with Cherry-Almond Glaze — An EASY quick bread recipe that’s perfect for Valentine’s Day, Easter, or Mother’s Day! Because you can never have too much pink!
Mini Cherry Oreo Cheesecakes – EASY mini cheesecakes loaded with cherries and an Oreo cookie crust!
Triple Chocolate Cherry Cake — This cake is loaded with juicy cherries and topped with an easy homemade chocolate frosting. I used a few shortcuts in this recipe to save time, but this cake tastes completely homemade!
Glazed Cherry Pie Bars — The bars are like cherry pie, but easier. There’s a buttery, soft, tender crust topped with cherry pie filling before being baked and glazed.
Glazed Cherry Bonbon Cookies — Soft, buttery, pink cookies with the surprise of a juicy, sweet maraschino cherry in the middle that also helps keep the cookies moist.
Cherry & Cream Cheese Turnovers — The turnovers are so good that people will think you bought them from a local bakery, but they’re so easy, ready in 20 minutes, and you’ll never need to settle for storebought turnovers again.
Originally published on July 24, 2012 and republished on June 19, 2020 with updated text.
Those are gorgeous!! I hate pitting cherries. Last time I used a straw and it worked pretty well, with definite spatter. Looked like I murdered someone on my counter. :)
Averie, these were SO GOOD. The combo is perfect, and I liked the blondie base instead of using a brownie base – it really made the cherries and chocolate shine bright. You’re a culinary genius! Thank you!!!!
Wow, that was fast! Glad you made them and enjoyed – and yes, the blondies help to really bring out the cherries rather than brownies were it all tastes…like chocolate. Not bad, of course, but this way you can really concentrate on the cherries :)
Made another batch and froze it for when my parents visit next month (just in case cherries aren’t at their very best by end of August), and another batch for work – this time I used 1/2 cup dark choco chips and 1/2 cup of those “mini” hershey’s kisses you can buy int he baking section. It’s 9:10AM up here in Ontario, and half the pan is gone already :)
I think you guys are going to turn into a blondie :) I love that you’ve been making so many varieties! They’re great for using up odds and ends candy or extra Halloween, Easter, etc candy. LMK what else you make!
Those look pretty darn fabulous!
These look unbelievable. I cannot seem to stop buy fruit right now. Who can blame us??
Pinned & shared on Facebook!
Oh man, if those were any more luscious, I’d have to buy a new keyboard because I’m already drooling all over it! I absolutely can’t get enough cherries at this time of year. I still haven’t gotten my fill of them plain and raw, but I’m sure the baking faze of my obsession will come soon enough… This recipe will be very handy then!
It takes a special time of year for me to not have just eaten them straight up – and to actually have enough to bake something with :)
Wow… I am drooling! I love me some cherries and chocolate. THIS is going to have to be a must try. THanks for sharing and making my stomach rumble.
I had a great discussion with a supermarket worker over whether the frozen cherries have pips or not. He could not confirm that they didn’t, so I did not buy them.
I love cherries and they have just appeared on the shelves here as well. I always find it strange when fruit seasons coincide on opposite sides of the world.
Look at those gorgeous colours!
This looks like another amazing recipe to try. Really I love your blog…..thank you so much.
Your photos are gorgeous and the blondies look AMAZING!!! I must make these and soon!!
I think summer, then fall are my favorite food seasons. You just can’t beat the summer fruit bounty! I’ve been enjoying the rainier cherries–no red stains and I think they taste a little like a peach or something. I love chocolate and cherries so some blondies sound perfect (and so are your pictures!!!)
Yum, Yum, Yum! Thanks for the inspiration in the kitchen. I have peaches, strawberries, and 10lbs of cherries. Gotta love summers in the NW! Off to bake some blondies.
Please LMK how it goes if you make them! You can add in any or all of those fruits; would be an amazing combo!
Just pulled strawberry and peach mix out of the oven smells and looks delish! Last night I made cherry and chocolate chip and those were good too. I use GF flour from bobs red mill and can’t even tell the difference!
Thanks Averie!!
Glad you’ve already made TWO batches – NICE! I love the flavors you’re using – I have so many peaches and nectarines I’ve been baking with, too. Glad the Bob’s GF worked like a champ, too!
Thanks for saving me from buying a cherry pitter! The blondies look amazing.
Yes, for me personally, waste of time/money and actually, it’s a *make work* b/c it splatters cherry juice everywhere and I have to wipe down my sink basin and countertop like it’s a surgical suite otherwise there is red splatter traces…forever!
Yeah, I make enough of a mess without any help! :D And magic erasers aren’t quite that magical.
Blondies!!!! You know I love those :) Definitely a lot of great produce and other foods in season right now.
Well hello there! I know you love your blondies :)
I have been buying tons of amazing looking fruit! Right now…I have a whole bunch of kiwi’s I am working on! This recipe looks devine! Can’t wait to try it!
your pics= absolutely georgous
thanks so much, Mariel!