Fruit Crumb Bars

This is ane of those wonderfully versatile recipes that is merely every bit proficient amongst apple tree filling, every bit it is amongst cherry filling, or blueberry; any your household unit of measurement likes the best.

The crumb crust/topping goes together inwards merely a dyad minutes amongst the nutrient processor together with if you lot tin hold off long plenty for the bars to cool downwardly to room temperature, they cutting beautifully. We (obviously) couldn't hold off that long (in the photograph below).

CRUMB CRUST/TOPPING
3 cups all operate flour
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 loving cup COLD butter (cubed)
1 egg, beaten

Put the flour, sugar, baking pulverization tabular array salt and cubed butter into the nutrient processor together with pulse until good mixed.  If you lot don't accept a nutrient processor, practise it amongst a pastry cutter together with piece of occupation it until the butter is good mixed. Add egg together with mix good (it volition hold off similar coarse sand).

Press HALF of this mixture into a greased 9" x 13" baking dish.  Top amongst fruit filling together with overstep amongst the other one-half of the crumb mixture.

Bake at 375° if you lot are using a metallic baking pan or 350° if you lot are using glass, for forty minutes or until overstep crumbs are calorie-free golden.

If you lot cool the bars completely earlier you lot cutting them,

they volition cutting really neatly (it is non necessary, but it

makes for a prettier presentation.

 

CHERRY FRUIT FILLING (or usage your favorite filling)
(2) xiv ounce cans tart pie cherries packed inwards water
1 1/2 cups carbohydrate (DIVIDED)
4 tablespoons + 2 teaspoon cornstarch
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (do non exit out)

Drain the cherries, but salvage the juice.  Put one loving cup of the juice inwards a saucepan together with add together HALF of the sugar, the cornstarch together with salt. Bring to a boil together with ready until overnice together with thick.

Remove from rut together with stir inwards the OTHER HALF of the sugar, the cherries together with the almond extract. 

Glaze   (optional)
2 tablespoon butter melted
2 cups powdered sugar
3-4 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (do non exit out)

While bars are nonetheless a fiddling warm, mix ii tablespoons melted butter amongst ii cups powdered sugar, virtually iii or iv tablespoons of milk together with 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract together with 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Whisk until smoothen together with drizzle over fruit bars.