My first job, at the ripe old age of nine, landed me in the middle of a cherry orchard in the fruit-laden Okanagan Valley in the interior of British Columbia. Family friends had rented a house for the summer on the shores of the Okanagan Lake and invited me to join them for several idyllic summer weeks. Their daughters and I wiled away the hours practicing circus routines for our generous audience, swimming and canoeing in the lake, and keeping ourselves entertained by spitting on fist-sized rocks and hurling them into the lake for Jeb, the enormous Newfoundland dog, to sniff out and retrieve. No matter how far we hurled our saliva-scented stones, we could never outfox that dog. He came back holding the correct rock in his soft mouth every time.
One day, when we were visiting a local orchard, the man who owned acres of fruit trees saw the slightly harassed looks on the faces of my friends’ parents. That will happen after spending a couple of weeks with a couple of 9-year olds and a 7-year old. He offered to pay five cents per basket of cherries that we picked. Despite the flagrant child-labor prices, we accepted immediately. That night, we sat down to figure out how many cherries we would need to pick to save up for our favorite candies at the local store. Of course, those were the days that you could buy a bagful of gummy bears, Pop Rocks, and Fun Dips for a dollar. We tackled our task with relish for a couple of hours each day and, by the end of the week, had a hearty supply of sweets to fuel our even heartier supply of energy.
These crumb bars are based on my Spiked Blueberry Crumb Bar recipe. The rum, however, is replaced with chopped pieces of crystallized ginger, which add a zing of heat to the sweet fruit.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine 5 cups of fresh, pitted cherries, 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 4 ounces chopped crystallized ginger, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 4 teaspoons cornstarch. Set aside.
In a separate medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup each of granulated sugar and brown sugar. Stir in 3 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg. Cut in 1 cup (2 sticks) of cold butter with a pastry cutter or a fork until the mixture is crumbly. Whisk one egg in a small bowl and stir into the flour mixture.
Press half of the flour mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the cherry mixture over the crust. Sprinkle the rest of the flour mixture over the cherries.
Bake in the preheated oven for 35-45 minutes, or until the top is light brown. Left the bars cool on a rack and then place the fridge to chill. This will make the bars easier to cut and remove from the pan. Cut into 32 squares and serve.
Other cherry dessert recipes:
Cookin’ Canuck’s Cherry Garcia Profiteroles (Cream Puffs)
Tartelette’s Cherry Bakewell Tartelettes with Cherry Pit Ice Cream Milkshakes
Use Real Butter’s Cherry-Almond Clafoutis
Dine & Dish’s Cherry Chocolate Float
Summer Cherry & Crystallized Ginger Crumb Bars
5 cups fresh, pitted cherries, cut in half
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
4 oz. crystallized ginger, chopped
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 tsp cornstarch
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg, lightly beaten
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine cherries, lemon juice, crystallized ginger, 1/2 cup sugar and cornstarch. Set aside.
In a separate medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup each of granulated sugar and brown sugar. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Cut in cold butter pieces with a pastry cutter or a fork until the mixture is crumbly. Stir the egg into the flour mixture.
Press half of the flour mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the cherry mixture over the crust. Sprinkle the rest of the flour mixture over the cherries.
Bake in the preheated oven for 35-45 minutes, or until the top is light brown. Left the bars cool on a rack and then place the fridge to chill. This will make the bars easier to cut and remove from the pan. Cut into 32 squares and serve.
Makes 32 squares.
islandeat says
Hi, Dara. Great post with a tempting recipe and charming recollections of your youthful sugar-fixation (I remember all those candies and would have one the same thing!).
Now I wonder if the orchard has become a vineyard, as is the case throughout the Okanagan these days…though that won't stop me from buying the fine wines.
Thanks,
Dan
pegasuslegend says
wow what a pretty bar for my a cookie tray at christmas going to bookmark this so festive for the 4the as well! thank you looks terrific!
Kalyn says
I can tell these would be delicious!
marla {family fresh cooking} says
These bars look amazing. The blueberry ones were fab too. Love your story here, made me smile. Such vivid & amazing childhood memories. I enjoy what you say here: "practicing circus routines for our generous audience" Gosh, it is so fun what kids come up with when the technology and TV's are out of sight! xo
btw: your book is on it's way via priority mail ….finally!
Evan B says
And now I have to go to the grocery store to buy some cherries.. I love the look of this dessert. Absolutely delicious looking.eup
Pacheco Patty says
Wow, your bar cookies look delicious, I love all the flavors!
Belinda @zomppa says
Cool first job! What a great memory – and great way to honor it.s
Steve says
My first job was picking cherries too. The farmer was the former principal of the school I would one day attend which my mom was the valedictorian when he was there so I think there was an unreasonable expectation on a 10 year old cherry picker. lol
Recipe for Delicious says
Cherries are on sale at my grocery store and I just bought crystalized ginger on a whim! Perfect timing! Thanks for a good-looking recipe!
Isabelle says
I just happened to grab a basket of sour cherries at the market on the weekend, and I have a feeling they'd be perfect in this recipe. Now, if only it would cool down enough for me to be okay with using the oven, we'd be set…
penny aka jeroxie says
I like the idea of using crystallised ginger. Shall have to try it out in my next batch.
Cookin' Canuck says
Islandeat – Yes, it probably it is a vineyard now. How the area has changed!
Claudia – You're right that they would make a nice Christmas treat, too, though I love the freshness of the summer cherries. I'll have to freeze some of them.
Kalyn, Evan, Patty, Belinda, Recipe for Delicious, Penny – Thank you!
Marla – Some of my best childhood memories come from those moments when we lived entirely by our imagination. I'm looking forward to the book. Thank you!
Steve – That's great! Thanks for adding your story.
Jeanne @ CookSister! says
Oooh, how fabulous! Cherries are some of my absolute favourite fruits, and bar cookies suit my general lack of attention to detail when baking – no fancy scmancy shapes to screw up!! 🙂
sunita says
What gorgeous bars, and i think i might have loved your job too 😉
Deeba PAB says
Love it…and HOW! Stone fruits rule my life these days!
My Kitchen in the Rockies says
Crystallized ginger is a great flavor addition in this dessert. Love it!
roxan says
Oh, I bet this would be delicious with the cup of coffee I'm drinking right now!
Drick says
wonderful… can only imagine the taste of the ginger with this great bar…
A SPICY PERSPECTIVE says
Great story! And wonderful looking bars! There's just nothing quite like ripe summer cherries!
La Gourmandesse says
Oh, I wish I were in the Okanagan right now! You brought back some serious cherry-eating childhood memories.
I like the ginger idea…will have to try it!
Jen Cheung says
that looks mouth watering. just what i need right now. too bad all the supermarket is close at this time :(:( i'll wait for tomorrow!!
jen
Anonymous says
I like that the filling is in the middle like that, it makes the cake look so pretty!
~Lisa~ says
These look delicious and beautiful! Nice job and congrats on Top 9!
bunkycooks says
Congrats on Top 9 today! These look incredibly delicious. I still have not seen great cherries here yet, but will bookmark your recipe for the future!
Cristie says
What a wonderful combination. I'm so anxious to see our Utah cherries hit the market, but I have been enjoying some California cherries. I have a bag in the fridge at the moment and your bars are calling their name 🙂
Lauren says
These are really stunning and I love how step-by-step all of your pictures and instructions are. I'll definitely be looking through your site today for more inspiration.
– Lauren, Lauren's Little Kitchen 🙂
Amanda says
Wow, those cherries look so great. Ours around here do not look that nice. The bars look so tasty and inviting. Love the vibrant color of the cherry filling.
Michelle @ Brown Eyed Baker says
I adore crumb bars, and these look phenomenal!
Maggy @ ThreeManyCooks says
Love the fresh cherries in this recipe. I would love one of these with a cup of tea this afternoon…YUM!
Maria says
Great summer treat!
Chef Dennis says
what a sweet story for such a sweet dessert! The addition of the ginger was such a nice touch offering a wonderful contrast!
Kevin says
Those cherry crumb bars look so good! I really like the addition of the crystallized ginger!
Soma says
Those are delicious!!