Cherry Chocolate Shortbread Bars
Beautiful Cherry Pie filling with cream cheese and Cool Whip on a delicious Shortbread Crust
Servings 14
Calories 225kcal
Ingredients
Cherry Pie Filling
- 2 cans sweet bing cherries do not drain
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup corn starch
- 1/2 fresh squeezed lemon, large
- 2 tsp Almond Extract
- 1/2 stick butter
Shortbread Crust
- 2 1/4 cup flour
- 1 cup quick oats
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar
- 3/4 cup sliced almonds
- 1 tsp cardamon spice
- 1 cup cold butter, (2 sticks) cubed
Remaining Ingredients
- 1 large tub Cool Whip
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar
- 1 tsp Almond Extract
- 1/2 cup whipping cream or more if needed
- 1 large chocolate bar of your choice, I used a Baker's Baking Chocolate Bar...in the baking section.
Instructions
Cherry Pie Filling
- Place cherries with 1 can of juice, sugar, and corn starch in a medium sized heavy bottomed stove top pan. Stir while heating on medium until it starts thickening.
- When thick like heavy syrup, add lemon juice, extract, and butter. Turn down to low and let simmer for about 4 minutes. Should be consistency of loose jelly.
- Chill in fridge for about 20 minutes or until ready to use.
Shortbread Crust
- While Cherry Pie Filling is cooling. Preheat oven to 350°.
- Place the flour, oats, confectioner's sugar, almonds, cardemon in a food processor and pulse for about 2 seconds...just to incorporate everything.
- Add the cold cubed butter and pulse until everything is mixed, crumbly but holds together in your hands.
- Butter or spray oil a 9"x13" glass pyrex pan.
- Dump flour mixture into center of pan and spread out evenly. Mold mixture to sides and bottom until it is firm and packed.
- Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes. It is done when just turning golden brown on the bottom and edges are a little darker. Let cool until room temperature.
- Note: You cook this longer than you would if you were adding a filling that needed to be cooked again in the crust.
Putting It All Together
- Cream the confectioner's sugar and cream cheese together.
- Add the extract. Then add the whipping cream a little at a time until it is creamy and has an icing consistency.
- Fold in the half the cherry filling to the cream cheese whip. Fold in half the cool whip. Then repeat until all folded in. Be careful not to overmix.
- Add the cherry cream cheese mixture to the cooled pie crust and gently spread across all of the crust. Break up the chocolate bar into chunks, I used a malat but you can use the back of a knife. Dot with chocolate bar chunks and crumbs.
- Set it in the freezer for about 4 hours. Then let it sit for about 10 minutes on the counter before cutting.
- Enjoy!!!