President's Day Cherry Squares

• Produce

  • 2/3 cup Reserved cherry, juice
  • 2 14.5-ounce cans Sour cherries, pitted

• Breakfast Foods

  • 1 1/2 cups Rolled oats, Traditional

• Baking & Spices

  • 1/8 tsp Almond extract
  • 3/4 tsp Baking soda
  • 1 cup Brown sugar, packed light or dark
  • 3 tbsp Cornstarch
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 cup Sugar
  • 1 tsp Vanilla extract

• Nuts & Seeds

  • 1/2 cup Almonds

• Dairy

  • 3/4 cup Butter, unsalted

• Other

  • 1 1/2 cups King arthur unbleached all-purpose

Found on kingarthurflour.com

Description

Ingredients

• Two 14.5-ounce cans pitted sour cherries (2 1/2 to 3 cups drained, juice reserved); or 6 cups frozen pitted sour cherries, thawed, drained, juice reserved
• 2/3 cup reserved cherry juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 1/2 cups traditional rolled oats
• 1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose
• 1 cup brown sugar, light or dark, packed
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9 x 9 pan. To make the filling: Measure out 2/3 cup of the reserved cherry juice. In a small saucepan, combine the cherries, juice, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes. Whisk the sugar with the cornstarch, and stir into the cherries. Simmer the mixture, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes (if youre using canned cherries); or for 20 minutes (if youre using thawed frozen). Itll thicken and look like canned cherry pie filling (but taste a WHOLE lot better). Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the vanilla and almond extracts, and set aside to cool slightly while you prepare the crust. To make the crust: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add the melted butter, stirring until everything is well combined. To assemble the bars: Press 2 1/2 cups (about 14 ounces) of the crust mixture into the prepared pan, smoothing it out to completely cover the bottom of the pan, with no gaps showing. Top the crust with the filling. Add the almonds to the remaining crust mixture, and sprinkle it over the filling. Bake the squares for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Remove the squares from the oven, and allow them to cool before cutting into 2 squares.