Shelly's Cherry Squares

Shelly's Cherry Squares is one of those easy recipes you'll make again and again! Cherry pie filling is nestled in a sweet soft sugar cookie type dough then dusted with powdered sugar. It's a cherry bar cookie recipe from the famous Magnolia Bakery in NYC, and it's a keeper!

A recipe from Magnolia Bakery

On a recent trip to NYC, I had the pleasure of visiting one of the locations of the very famous Magnolia Bakery We bought six cupcakes to take back home with us....red velvet, chocolate with buttercream, vanilla with buttercream, and coconut.  (They were scrumptious, btw!)

While we were at the checkout, my mom spotted the cookbook,  More From Magnolia; Recipes from the World Famous Bakery and Allysa Torey's Home Kitchen  Knowing what a complete sucker I am for a good cookbook, she quickly added it to our order. The first recipe I made from the book was this easy recipe for Shelly's Cherry Squares.

There's only a few ingredients and they require little effort to make. It is a great recipe for the novice baker. But, an experienced baker will love too!

Equipment needed to make Shelly's Cherry Squares:

• a 13 x  9" baking pan, can be glass or metal. 
• Cooking spray, such as PAM
• an electric mixer (handheld or stand)

Ingredients needed:

• unsalted butter
• granulated sugar
• large eggs
• pure vanilla extract
• all purpose flour (I recommend unbleached)
• canned cherry pie filling
• powdered sugar

How to make Shelly's Cherry Squares 

These cherry bars have a soft sugar cookie texture with a puddle of cherry pie filling in the middle.

To make Shelly's Cherry Squares, the batter is simply mixed up and spread into a prepared 9" by 13" pan. It's then scored with a knife into serving sizes and cherry pie filling is added to the middle of each square.

It bakes in a 350 degree oven until it's done, cooled, and then cut into serving sizes following the scoring. Dusted with powdered sugar they make an easy recipe perfect for potlucks or any occasion you are looking for something a little sweet!

You'll find this recipe for Shelly's Cherry Squares produces a soft, cake-like sugar cookie texture that's not overly sweet. It makes a great treat for anytime of the day!

Can I freeze cherry squares?

Yes! This recipe for cherry squares can be frozen. Make sure you wrap them well with plastic wrap and put them in an airtight container, like a plastic bag. Once frozen, allow them to defrost at room temperature before enjoying. 

cherry squares, cherry bars

dessert, cookies

American

Yield: 24 servings

Author: Renee Paj

Shelly's Cherry Squares

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 35 MinTotal time: 45 Min

Shelly's Cherry Squares is one of those easy recipes you'll make again and again! Cherry pie filling is nestled in a sweet soft sugar cookie type dough then dusted with powdered sugar. It's a cherry bar cookie recipe from the famous Magnolia Bakery in NYC, and it's a keeper!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups canned cherry pie filling
• confectioner's sugar for dusting

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and lightly flour a 13 x 9- inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter with the granulated sugar until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla. Add the flour and mix thoroughly.
3. Spread the dough evenly in the prepared pan. With a small, sharp knife, score into twenty-four 2-inch squares.
4. Place a tablespoon of cherry pie filling ( each containing several cherries ) on each scored square.
5. Bake for 30 -35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the pan comes out clean.
6. Allow to cool to room temperature, then sprinkle with confectioner's sugar before cutting and serving

Nutrition Facts

Calories

168.37

Fat (grams)

4.74 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

2.67 g

Carbs (grams)

29.49 g

Fiber (grams)

0.37 g

Net carbs

29.12 g

Sugar (grams)

17.45 g

Protein (grams)

2.22 g

Sodium (milligrams)

15.35 mg

Cholesterol (grams)

41.17 mg

Nutritional Information is an estimate

https://www.reneeskitchenadventures.com/2010/11/shellys-cherry-squares.html

Copyright © 2010 Renee's Kitchen Adventures

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If you love Shelly's Cherry Squares, you might enjoy these easy to make sweet cherry treats too! 

• Chocolate Cherry Cake
• Michigan Cherry Amaretto No Churn Ice Cream
• Cherry Almond Cake

Note: This recipe for Shelly's Cherry Squares first appeared on Renee's Kitchen Adventures in November 2010. I've updated the post to include more information and republished it because it's an excellent recipe. If you've visited this page before, the recipe hasn't changed from the original post.