Cherry Bars (with Coconut and Chocolate)
Cherry Bars are the delicious, chewy, fruity cousin to the classic Hello Dolly Bar. If you love a treat made with a little bit of everything, these bars are perfect for you!
If you are a fan of the classic Hello Dolly Bars, these cherry bars take that amazing treat to the next level!
They are just as simple to make, and contain many of the same ingredients, but are then given an extra layer of flavor with some delicious maraschino cherries. Yum!
It’s a little bit chocolate-covered-cherry, a little graham cracker, a hint of coconut, nuttiness of walnuts, all covered in caramelized sweetened condensed milk. These take just 30 minutes to bake and you are on your way to dessert heaven!
Why Make This Recipe
- Easy to Make: These Cherry Bars just require some simple layering and baking. No fancy tools or techniques!
- Twist on a Classic: A fruitier take on the beloved Hello Dolly Bars, with the bold flavor of cherries.
- Party Favorite: I love making bar desserts (like Chocolate Chip Bars or Strawberry Brownies) that are quick to make and easily serve a crowd!
Key Ingredients for Cherry Bars
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
- Graham Cracker Crumbs: These form the base of the dish. I find it easiest to make graham cracker crumbs by pulsing graham crackers in a blender or food processor, and it makes for the smallest crumbs. However, you can also put them in a ziploc bag, cover the bag with a dish towel, and then hit the bag with a meat mallet or roll it with a rolling pin. To make the bars gluten free, substitute gluten free graham crackers.
- Chocolate chips: I like semi-sweet but you could easily use dark chocolate or milk chocolate chips for this recipe. Milk chocolate makes the bars even sweeter, where-as dark chocolate chips will balance out the flavor of the cherries. These bars are heavy on the chocolate, so if you want a more subtle chocolate flavor, you can reduce it by ½ cup.
- Maraschino cherries: Maraschino cherries are the magic ingredient to this recipe. They add the perfect amount of fruity contrast to the sweet chocolate. Make sure to drain them from the liquid, as adding too much liquid into this recipe will make the bars soggy.
- Shredded coconut: If you are not a fan of coconut you could leave it out, but you may need extra cherries to make up for the lack of coconut! Use unsweetened coconut if you want to reduce sugar, or toast it beforehand for extra flavor.
- Walnuts: I love the subtle flavor of walnuts but you could also use almonds or pecans.
- Sweetened condensed milk: Canned sweetened condensed milk is what holds the dish together when it’s all baked. There is no substitute, and evaporated milk will not work!
Tools
- 9×13 baking dish: Lining your dish with parchment paper or foil will make it easier to get the slightly-sticky bars out!
How to Make this Recipe
Step One: Combine the melted butter and the graham cracker crumbs until combined.
Step Two: Pour the graham cracker crumb mixture into the bottom of the pan, patting them down until a crust forms.
Step Three: Sprinkle the chocolate chips, coconut, walnuts, and then maraschino cherries on top of the crust, in that order.
Step Four: Drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over the top of the bars.
Step Five: Bake for 25-30 minutes until the edges start to turn brown and bubbly.
Step Six: Allow the bars to cool completely before cutting.
Expert Tips
- Don’t worry too much if you feel like your sweetened condensed milk doesn’t cover everything perfectly. Give it a few minutes to settle before it goes into the oven and it will fill in!
- Do not try to cut into the bars before they are cool! Be patient and give the bars time to set up. Otherwise you will have a sticky mess!
- You can certainly double this recipe if desired. In that case, I would use two 9×13 pans.
Recipe FAQs
You definitely could substitute fresh or frozen cherries, though I have not personally tried it. Keep in mind that this substitute will significantly change the texture and flavor of the bars.
If you do decide to use fresh or frozen cherries be sure and remove as much moisture as possible. If you prefer the natural cherry flavor but don’t want to worry about the liquid levels in fresh fruit, I would suggest using dried cherries.
Store the bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to a week. They also freeze well for up to 2 months. If freezing, wrap individual bars in plastic wrap and store in a zip-top bag to avoid freezer burn.
I recommend waiting at least an hour before cutting into these bars. You can speed up the process slightly by putting them in the refrigerator or even the freezer until they reach room temperature.
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Cherry Bars
Equipment
- 9×13 Baking Dish
Ingredients
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
- 3 cups graham cracker crumbs, about 18 graham crackers
- 1 3/4 cup chocolate chips
- 1¼ cup diced maraschino cherries, patted dry
- 1½ cup shredded coconut, sweetened
- 1½ cup chopped walnuts
- 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a small bowl, combine the melted butter and the graham cracker crumbs until combined.
- Grease the bottom and sides of a 13x9x2 glass pan. Then pour the graham cracker crumb mixture into the bottom of the pan, patting them down until a crust forms.
- Sprinkle the chocolate chips, coconut, walnuts, and then maraschino cherries on top of the crust, in that order.
- Drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over the top of the bars.
- Place the pan in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until the edges start to turn brown and bubbly.
- Allow the Cherry Bars to cool for 10-20 minutes at room temperature, then put the pan in the refrigerator to allow them to cool completely before cutting. Enjoy!
Notes
- Graham Cracker Crumbs: To make the bars gluten free, substitute gluten free graham crackers.
- Shredded coconut: If you are not a fan of coconut you could leave it out, but you may need extra cherries to make up for the lack of coconut! Use unsweetened coconut if you want to reduce sugar, or toast it beforehand for extra flavor.
- Walnuts: You could also use almonds or pecans.
- Sweetened condensed milk: There is no substitute, and evaporated milk will not work!
- Don’t worry too much if you feel like your sweetened condensed milk doesn’t cover everything perfectly. Give it a few minutes to settle before it goes into the oven and it will fill in!
- Do not try to cut into the bars before they are cool! Be patient and give the bars time to set up. Otherwise you will have a sticky mess!
- You can certainly double this recipe if desired. In that case, I would use two 9×13 pans.
