• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Cookin Canuck
  • Recipe Index
  • 30 Minute Meals
  • Cooking 101
  • Instant Pot Recipes
  • About
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Quick&Easy
  • Instant Pot
  • About
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Quick&Easy
    • Instant Pot
    • About
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Home » Desserts » Cookies & Bars

    Summer Cherry & Crystallized Ginger Crumb Bar Recipe

    Published: Jul 5, 2010 · Modified: Mar 30, 2021 by Dara · This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. · 33 Comments

    5Shares

    Summer Cherry & Crystallized Ginger Bar Recipe

    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 9x13-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, ½ cup granulated sugar and 4 teaspoons cornstarch. Set aside.


    In a separate medium bowl, combine ½ cup each of granulated sugar and brown sugar. Stir in 3 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ½ 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 summer dessert recipes:

    Homemade Ice Pops (Fresh Fruit)
    Cherry Garcia Profiteroles (Cream Puffs)
    Grilled Pineapple with Maple Rum Sauce

    Summer Cherry & Crystallized Ginger Crumb Bars

    5 cups fresh, pitted cherries, cut in half
    3 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
    4 oz. crystallized ginger, chopped
    ½ cup granulated sugar
    4 teaspoon cornstarch

    ½ cup granulated sugar
    ½ cup brown sugar
    3 cups flour
    1 teaspoon baking powder
    ¼ teaspoon salt
    ½ teaspoon 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 9x13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

    In a large bowl, combine cherries, lemon juice, crystallized ginger, ½ cup sugar and cornstarch. Set aside.

    In a separate medium bowl, combine ½ 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.

    Printable recipe

    5Shares
    « Chicken BLT Pasta Salad Recipe
    Grilled Baby Back Pork Ribs with Molasses & Bourbon Sauce Recipe »

    Want more easy, healthy recipes?

    Subscribe to get the recipes sent straight to your inbox.

      We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time.

      Reader Interactions

      Comments

      1. Soma

        July 16, 2010 at 2:01 pm

        Those are delicious!!

        Reply
      2. Kevin

        July 12, 2010 at 9:55 pm

        Those cherry crumb bars look so good! I really like the addition of the crystallized ginger!

        Reply
      3. Chef Dennis

        July 10, 2010 at 1:57 pm

        what a sweet story for such a sweet dessert! The addition of the ginger was such a nice touch offering a wonderful contrast!

        Reply
      4. Maria

        July 09, 2010 at 1:33 pm

        Great summer treat!

        Reply
      5. Maggy @ ThreeManyCooks

        July 08, 2010 at 11:59 am

        Love the fresh cherries in this recipe. I would love one of these with a cup of tea this afternoon...YUM!

        Reply
      6. Michelle @ Brown Eyed Baker

        July 07, 2010 at 5:16 pm

        I adore crumb bars, and these look phenomenal!

        Reply
      7. Amanda

        July 07, 2010 at 4:50 pm

        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.

        Reply
      8. Lauren

        July 07, 2010 at 4:26 pm

        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 🙂

        Reply
      9. Cristie

        July 07, 2010 at 1:42 pm

        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 🙂

        Reply
      10. bunkycooks

        July 07, 2010 at 1:22 pm

        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!

        Reply
      11. ~Lisa~

        July 07, 2010 at 12:47 pm

        These look delicious and beautiful! Nice job and congrats on Top 9!

        Reply
      12. Anonymous

        July 07, 2010 at 8:15 am

        I like that the filling is in the middle like that, it makes the cake look so pretty!

        Reply
      13. Jen Cheung

        July 07, 2010 at 2:01 am

        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

        Reply
      « Older Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




      Primary Sidebar

      • Facebook
      • Instagram
      • Pinterest
      • Twitter
      Photo of Dara Michalski.

      Hi there! Welcome to Cookin' Canuck.

      I'm Dara, a Canadian living in the U.S. and sharing my favorite healthy recipes. My cooking motto is that healthy eating never needs to be boring!

      More about me →

      Popular

      • Strawberry Nice Cream
      • Lemon Orzo Salad
      • Sautéed Corn, Zucchini & Blistered Tomatoes Recipe
      • Grilled Halloumi Cheese Recipe

      Footer

      ↑ back to top

      About

      • Meet Dara
      • Contact
      • Work With Me
      • FAQ
      • Privacy Policy

      Newsletter

      • Sign Up! for emails and updates

      Recipes

      • All Recipes
      • Main Dishes
      • Instant Pot Recipes
      • 30-Minute Meals

      I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

      Copyright © 2022 Cookin' Canuck