Flathead Lake Cherry Buckwheat Bars
Flathead Lake Cherry Buckwheat Bars are made with cherries from the Flathead Lake Region in MT which make these bars super special, but you can use a sweet cherry from anywhere to make these delicious bars.
Ingredients
- For the Crust
- 2 cups all-purpose flour - to keep these gluten-free use a gluten-free flour
- 1 cup buckwheat flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar light or dark
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup 2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1 large egg beaten
- For the Filling
- 3 cups pitted sweet cherries cut into quarters (a little over 1 pound when weighed with the pits - 1 pound when pitted)
- 1 12 - 13 ounce jar cherry preserves
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- Optional Ingredient
- Powdered Sugar for dusting and making pretty
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F. Prepare the Crust: In the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse together the flour, buckwheat flour, sugars, salt, and baking powder.Pulse until well combined. Add the butter and using on/off pulses pulse until the mixture looks like sand; add the egg and pulse until well distributed. Note: The dough will look like coarse meal, but should hold together when pressed. Refrigerate the dough while you make the filling.
- Prepare the Filling: In a small saucepan combine the cherries and the preserves. Heat until the preserves melt. Combine the lemon juice and the cornstarch together, mix well then add to the preserves/cherry mixture. Heat, stirring, until the mixture thickens slightly. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
- Butter a 9 x 13 baking pan and line with parchment paper; allowing the paper to overlap by 1-inch on each end. Press half the dough into the pan, patting with your fingers and knuckles to achieve an even thickness. Spread the cherry mixture evenly over the top; then sprinkle the remaining dough over the filling, pressing slightly to form a top crust. Place in the oven and bake for 40 - 45 minutes, or until the top is goldenish and the fruit is bubbling. Remove from the oven and allow to cool fully before removing the bars from the pan using the overlapped parchment. Cut into 24 squares.
- Bars can be stored in an air-tight container for up to 2 days, or refrigerate.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 squareCalories: 201kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 2gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 71mgFiber: 1g
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