Aunt Sonjas Cherry Squares Recipes

CHERRY BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extracts. Gradually add flour., Spread 3 cups dough into a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Spread with pie filling. Drop remaining dough by teaspoonfuls over filling. Bake 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack., In a small bowl, mix confectioners' sugar, extracts and enough milk to reach desired consistency; drizzle over top.

CHERRY SQUARES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a medium bowl, stir together 1 1/4 cup flour and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Rub in 1/2 cup butter using your hands or a pastry blender. Press into an ungreased 9 inch square pan.
• Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned at the edges. Set aside. In a medium bowl, beat eggs until light. Mix together the brown sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the eggs. Mix in the coconut, nuts, and cherries; spread the batter evenly over the baked crust.
• Return to the oven, and bake for 25 minutes, or until brown. Set aside to cool. In a small bowl, mix the confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons butter, vanilla, and water until smooth. Add more liquid if necessary to make a more spreadable mixture. Spread over cooled bars before cutting into squares.

AUNT SONJA'S CHERRY SQUARES

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar together until very light and fluffy.
• Add eggs one at a time, then beat in the extracts.
• Gradually mix in the flour until well incorporated.
• Spread 3/4 of the batter in the bottom of a 9″x13″ pan lined with parchment paper.
• Scoop cherry pie filling over batter in pan.
• Drop remaining batter by spoonfuls over the cherries. (I often use a small cookie scoop and spread the globs out a bit with my fingers.)
• Bake at 375 for 45 min.
• Let cool completely before slicing and serving.
• After being baked and sliced into squares, they can be frozen for up to three months, if you're so inclined.