Sour cherry bars

These sour cherry bars are a love for life! Crispy shortbread pastry, pleasant lemon notes, and rich sour cherry jam filling.

Mom’s sour cherry bars and my childhood memories…

Our memory is amazing! Sometimes it’s enough to see something or someone once and that’s it – the “picture” will settle in your head forever.

And if we talk about the memory of emotions … here everything is even more subtle! Even after a hundred years, some memories make us smile or cry…

And the memory of scents is really incredible! Just imagine: you are walking down the street, when suddenly something changes around you –  as if an invisible veil descends on the ground and fills the air with light notes of that old familiar smell that is so precious to your heart… and those notes become stronger and stronger… your head starts spinning because the memories are intertwined and begin to build in a chronological series, and your eyes immediately see the picture from the past: you are a little child playing in your room, and your mom is frying your favorite meatballs in the kitchen! Sound familiar, right?

And perfume… you can unmistakably recognize a person by his or her signature scent…

Some “smell” memories are not that pleasant – in my case, it’s the pea soup, which was cooked for us in kindergarten (when I feel its smell I immediately see a huge saucepan with a scoop sticking out of it, the cook who carries this blend up the stairs to the second floor and the “happy” faces of children when the pea soup is poured into their plates. only pea soup with spätzle could cure this gastronomic trauma of my childhood, I will certainly write you the recipe soon, it’s heavenly good!)

Today, on my way to the supermarket, the aroma of sour cherry jam, lemon zest, and shortbread dough was hovering in the air  and my memory, like a gentle breeze, picked me up and carried me far into the past… and again I am a little girl who just woke up, the warm rays of the summer sun are warming my face through the window, the neighbor’s puppy Mars is barking happily in the garden, two old ladies are discussing the latest news sitting on the bench. And my mom has just baked my favorite sour cherry tart! Oh, that tart is still a heavenly delight to me …

“Don’t eat it hot, let it cool down a bit,” my mother always repeated. But try to resist! The tart smells soooo delicious all over the house, the jam “looks” at you with its juicy eyes, and the crispy dough seductively beckons with a golden color – you simply have no other choice, you must bite at least a microscopic piece of this “sweetness” secretly from your mom.

Today, apart from the planned purchases I also brought a jar of sour cherry jam from the store – I am going to bake my mom’s heavenly yummy sour cherry tart for dessert.

I wish everyone a sweet day with the aroma of lemon zest and homemade jam! And let only pleasant memories live in your memory.

Ingredients for mom’s easy tart recipe:

• Butter
• Sugar
• Eggs
• Flour. Use plain all-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Grated zest of lemon (optional)
• Thick sour cherry jam (feel free to use any other thick jam of your choice)

How to make sour cherry bars

Melt the butter, add sugar immediately and mix well. Allow cooling slightly.

Then add 2 eggs and grated zest to the butter and mix again.

Add flour, baking powder and knead a soft dough (if it’s too sticky add some more flour)

Put 1/3 of the dough in the freezer (we’ll need it later to put on top of the tart)

Place the remaining 2/3 of the dough in a baking dish (you can roll it or just press with your fingers so that the dough fills the entire baking dish and its sides)

Spread the jam over the top

Now take the pastry from the freezer and grate it over the top of the jam. Use a thick grater.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and bake the sour cherry tart for 30-40 minutes until golden brown. Wait until it cools down, cut into bars or squares and enjoy. Thanks for visiting our virtual kitchen!

These bars are delicious with cherries and any thick jam, so don’t hesitate to change the filling to your taste: plum jam, peach jam, strawberry jam, apricot jam – success is guaranteed in all cases.