Cherry almond bars

I watched “Ides of March” last week and liked it a lot; it is very difficult to pay attention to anything else when Gosling and Clooney are on the screen – and I am sure the girls will agree with me on that –
but Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Evan Rachel Wood deliver great performances, too. I usually do not like political thrillers that much but “Ides of March” surprised me in a very good way.

Cherries are abundant at this time of the year and I love eating them fresh, without anything else. My husband knows that and brought home buckets of cherry for me – the amount was so huge that I could never eat them all myself, so I baked these delicious bars – just be careful, because they are very addictive.

Cherry almond bars
from the gorgeous Rustic Fruit Desserts: Crumbles, Buckles, Cobblers, Pandowdies, and More

Filling:
500g (18oz) cherries, pitted and halved if small or quartered if large
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon corn starch
1/8 teaspoon salt
zest and juice of 1 lemon

Crust and topping:
2 ¼ cups (315g) all purpose flour
½ cup (88g) packed brown sugar
1 cup + 2 tablespoons (114g) almond meal
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (168g/6oz) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; lightly butter a 23cm (9in) square baking pan, line with foil leaving an overhang in two opposite sites then butter the foil as well.
Make the filling: combine the cherries, sugar, corn starch, salt, lemon zest and juice in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and boil for 1 minute to thicken. Set aside.
Make the crust/topping: combine the flour, brown sugar, almond meal and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and process until crumbly. Add the egg and vanilla and pulse just until the mixture comes together.
Press two-thirds of the crumb mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan then pour in the cherry filling. Press clumps of the remaining crumb mixture over the cherry filling.
Bake in the middle of the oven for 30-35 minutes or until light golden brown and bubbling around the edges. Cool completely before cutting into bars.
Bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Makes 16 – I made the exact recipe above using a 20cm (8in) square baking pan