YOU GUYS HAVE TO MAKE THESE. Seriously, please go get cherries right now and whip them up. These brown butter cherry bars are one of the best things I’ve eaten this year.
The crust is a buttery shortbread-like crust, the filling is packed with cherries and a rich, soft brown butter custard and the edges get crisp and caramelized from the cherry juices and butter. It’s the most perfect combination of flavors!
Smitten Kitchen took a recipe from Epicurious for a highly-rated Brown Butter Raspberry Tart and converted it into bars with cherries and I’m so glad that this happened. Tarts are delicious dessert albeit slightly more work and definitely fancier. These bars are a cinch to make and just fancy enough for any occasion…a backyard BBQ, a dinner party, a work potluck or tonight, for dessert.
The crust comes together with just five ingredients and one bowl; press it into the bottom of a 8 x 8-inch pan and parbake. After browning the butter for the filling, everything comes together in one bowl. The browned butter adds a layer of complexity to these and the aroma alone will make your mouth water. The only (slightly) tedious part is pitting the cherries, but you’ll get a rhythm down and be done before you know it. A cherry pitter is the best tool for the job; this is the one I use. It’s easy to use and very efficient…and it even pits olives if you’re into those!
After laying the cherries into the parbaked crust, the brown butter filling gets poured on top and baked. You’re only 40 minutes away from some of the most decadent and delicious bars you’ve ever eaten (okay, so you do need to let them cool a bit). I cut these into somewhat small squares because they are quite rich, but I kept going back for more so cut them into whatever size that will make you feel okay about eating a couple.
These are a showstopper and welcome at any party/get-together/dinner/I’m-home-alone-and-want-dessert. Make sure to snag one for yourself before you serve them because they fly off the plate!
[tasty-recipe id=”31699″]
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