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I was so thrilled this year to be able to actually get sour cherries in the freezer so I can make homemade Sour Cherry Pie Filling! Sour cherry pie is my absolute favorite pie, but the way my family annihilates pies,  they don’t really seem worth the effort. I spend all that time rolling, chilling and baking, just to have it obliterated in a matter of minutes. I like to get a little bit better mileage out of my time spent in the kitchen. So Cherry Almond Kuchen is right up my alley, it can be whipped up just as quickly as a batch of cookies with less baking time and scooping.

Cherry Almond Kuchen is delicious, but  is not without it’s quirks. I actually attempted this recipe 2 twice before I got it right.  Turns out Cherry Almond Kuchen is the Goldilocks of baked goods, and the right pan size is pretty important to get it just right.

After trying a  Cherry Almond Kuchen with a cookie sheet (fail), and a 9×13 glass pyrex dish (super fail) I decided it was time to buy a true jelly roll pan.

I ordered the Chicago Metallic Commercial II Traditional Uncoated True Jelly Roll Pan from Amazon and 5 days later the UPS guy brought it to me.

The difference between a jelly roll pan and a regular cookie sheet is a jelly roll pan measuers 14-3/4 by 9-3/4 by 1-Inch, and a  half sheet cookie pan usually measures in the neighborhood of 13 x 18 inches.

 I used my new jelly roll pan the same day it was delivered and achieved Kuchen success, finally!

 

Cherry Almond Kuchen

Yield: 32

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• Sour cherry pie filling or 1- 21 ounce can cherry pie filling
• 1 recipe Powdered Sugar Icing
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
• 3 - 4 teaspoons milk

Instructions

For the Kuchen

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl beat butter and shortening with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until well-combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Reserve 1-1/2 cups of the dough. Spread remaining dough in the bottom of an ungreased 14 3/4x9 3/4 x1-inch baking pan.
2. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes. Spread pie filling over crust in pan. Spoon reserved dough into small mounds atop pie filling.
3. Bake about 30 minutes more or until top is light brown. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Drizzle top with Powdered Sugar Icing. Cool completely. Cut into bars to serve.

For the Powdered Sugar Icing

1. In a small bowl stir together powdered sugar, vanilla or almond extract, and enough milk (3 to 4 teaspoons) to make icing drizzling consistency.

Recipe barely adapted from: Cherry Kuchen Bars