Evenin' friends. It's a sad state of affairs when the most productive thing I did all weekend was 1) bake these puppies and 2) artfully arrange them. But hey, it's Kim's Dare to DIY Challenge and I can't not join in . Otherwise, my productivity level would have been a flatline. So anyway, it's week 3 and the dare is to Eat Cookies. Or Make Cookies. I'm not sure which. Probably both. Well I had been wanting to make these Tart Cherry Cheddar Bars for awhile, mostly because of the cheese factor (literally), so this got my butt in gear. And I like making bars as opposed to cookies because they pass for breakfast food without all the guilt. Yeah, I'll justify my way into anything. Anyway, don't be scared of the cheese. It works wonders with the cherry & the crust. In fact, I implore you to tell me what doesn't work wonders when paired with cheese. Nothing!
Tart Cherry Cheddar Bars
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded*
3/4 cup cherry preserves
Directions:
1) Line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides. Grease the foil. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2) Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in a food processor. Add the butter and cheese and pulse until the flour is pale yellow and coarse.
3)Press half the flour mixture firmly into the prepared pan. Bake just until golden, about 15 minutes. Cool slightly. Spread the preserves evenly over the crust, then sprinkle the remaining flour mixture evenly over the preserves. Bake at 325° until the top is golden, about 25 minutes. Place on a wire rack and cool completely, about 1 hour.
4) When cool, use the foil “handles” to lift the bar from the pan and cut.
*According to America's Test Kitchen where I originally saw this recipe, the shredded, bagged cheese actually works better for this recipe, making the crust even crispier than if you grated your own. Imagine that.
nd in case you are in the market for a bunch of awesome cookie recipes, go check out the rest of em here...
9 comments:
Cheddar cheese? Really? I'm fascinated. And scared. And hungry.
And since my husband is cherry obsessed, I may have to try these. They sure look tasty. And I love the red and green cloth under the bar. So cute!
I need you to come and take photos of my food for me. I'm terrible. Yours could be in a magazine.
hmmmm.... i never would have thought to combine those two! but sounds yummy! yay for being productive!
enjoy your bars tonight (and tomorrow morn!) ;)
They look great! I am with you on making bars-I made granola bars this week =)
I may have to try the cherry cheese combo! Thanks for sharing.
These look totally good. And your photography rocks. Can you do the rest of the challenges for me?
As a side note, I find it so funny when cheddar cheese is orange. In New England, cheddar is always white and I don't get the whole adding coloring to cheese! But that really is a side note...
cheese makes everything better, so why not cookies too!? I have to try these soon... thanks for the recipe!
I love cheese and fruit! I will be making these and eating them probably by myself...but I'm sure it's ok.
Ooh, these look yummy! I love cherries and cheese, so why not put them together?
I also felt kind of unproductive this weekend, but I did bake a coffee cake using leftover cranberries, which turned out pretty good too.
How do you take such a good food photos? And while I love me some cheese....this still scares me some.
hmmm... I'm perplexed. I'm not sure how I feel about cheese and cherries together... it sort of reminds me of bridal luncheons that my mother-in-law throws with cheese whiz and maraschino cherry sandwiches (ew by the way). But I may just need to try them and let my belly decide :)
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