Cherry Almond Cookie Bars

These easy cherry almond cookie bars come together in a flash with the help of a box of cake mix and an easy almond glaze.

These cherry almond cookie bars were a little baking experiment I tried recently that turned out really well. I had a box of cherry chip cake mix sitting in my pantry that I wanted to use up, and I was feeling inspired by a batch of cake mix brownies that I had recently made, so I decided to try something similar but with the bright, perfect-for-summer flavors of cherry and almond. If you’re looking for a quick and easy alternative to traditional cookies, these soft and chewy cookie bars really streamline the whole process by allowing you to bake everything all at once and then slice them into squares quickly before serving. These are a great, fruity treat to set out on a dessert table, pack into a lunch box, or keep for yourself when you’re craving an afternoon treat.

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Ingredients Needed for the Cherry Almond Cookie Bars

You’ll need:

• Cherry chip boxed cake mix (You could also use this recipe to make your own cake mix and add 1-2 teaspoons of finely chopped dried cherries.)
• Milk or a non-dairy substitute
• Butter or a plant-based substitute
• Eggs or a plant-based egg replacement
• Easy 3-ingredient almond glaze

The glaze on these cookie bars is optional, and the bars will definitely be sweet enough without it, but the almond glaze is what gives these cookie bars their delightful hit of almond flavoring, so I highly recommend taking the two minutes to whip it up.

More yummy cookie recipes for you: The Best Chocolate Chip Cooke Recipe

Method for Making the Cherry Cookie Bars From Cake Mix

Preheat your oven and prepare your baking dish. Use a square baker measuring 8×8 lined with parchment paper cut slightly smaller than the width of your dish but long enough to create an overhang on two sides. Whether you use a baking pan made of metal, glass, or one made of ceramic, like the one I use, I don’t recommend using anything larger than an 8×8 pan because your bars will end up being a bit too thin when they’re done baking.

Combine your ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and whip them up until everything is combined into an even mixture using a strong wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. You can use an electric stand mixer if you like as the batter will be quite thick, but I find the electric mixer unnecessary with such a quick and easy recipe with so few ingredients, so I usually prefer to just avoid creating the extra dirty dishes.

Transfer your cookie dough to the prepared baking dish and smooth it out evenly to fill the entire pan from edge to edge.

Bake the bars for 30 minutes, then remove them from the oven. The center of the cookie bars may be a bit soft, but they will firm up as they cool. Allow the cookie bars to cool completely in the pan before removing them by lifting the parchment.

Make your own chocolatey boxed cake mix with flour: Homemade Bakery Worthy Chocolate Cake Mix Recipe

Transfer the bars to a cutting board, whisk together your almond glaze, and drizzle with the glaze. Allow the bars to set for a few minutes before slicing the bars into small squares. Enjoy!

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Here’s the full printable recipe.