Cherry Bars

I'm home from Rochester, MN and instead of getting my suitcase unpacked and the laundry started, I decided to make another childhood favorite dessert......Cherry Bars.  My mom used to make these bars when she had coffee with the neighbors, needed to bring a dessert to a funeral, needed a special treat for a craft sale or just wanted to make a family dessert to enjoy.  Here's the recipe and how to so you too can create these yummy bars!

Cream together 1/2 cup of butter, 1/2 cup of shortening and 1/4 teaspoon of butter flavoring.

To this mixture, add 1 3/4 cup of sugar and 4 eggs.  Mix well.

Add 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring, 3 cups of flour, 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Again, mix well.

Reserve about a cup of batter and spread the rest on a greased baking pan.

Spread one can of cherry pie filling over the batter.  (You can use any flavor pie filling you want.)

Use the reserved dough to make "islands" over the cherries.

Bake in a 350 degree oven until the dough turns golden brown.

Once it's cool, drizzle with a glaze made from milk and powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

“The measuring and mixing always smoothed out her thinking processes - nothing was as calming as creaming butter - and when the kitchen was warm from the oven overheating and the smell of baking chocolate, she took final stock of where she'd been and where she was going. Everything was fine.  -Jennifer Cruisie