Fresh Cherry Cookie Bars

These fresh cherry cookie bars are made with a cake mix cookie dough. Easy to work with, semi-homemade, and full of fresh cherry filling. You can certainly use canned pie filling, but fresh pie filling is to die for and since we had a bucket of cherries to use up that is the route I took. Switch it up and use any seasonal fruit! My husband's favorite cake mix (actually the only one he will eat!) is cherry chip. So that's what I used, but yellow or white would work too.

Crust:

1 box cake mix

½ c. softened butter

2 eggs

1 c. flour

Filling: (can also substitute 2 cans cherry pie filling)

4 c. fresh cherries, pitted

¼ c. water

1 ½ T. lemon juice

⅓ c. sugar

3 T. corn starch

¼ tsp. almond extract

Icing:

1 c. powdered sugar

2 T. milk

¼ tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. butter

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until dough forms. Press ⅔ of the dough into an ungreased 9x13 baking pan, pressing evenly. Set remaining dough to the side. Pierce dough in pan with a fork. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat cherries and all of the filling ingredients in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil, while stirring. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Pour cherry filling over the crust.

Roll out remaining dough ¼" thick and cut with cookie cutters (any shape!).

Lay the cutouts on top of the filling in any pattern you'd like. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until cookie cutouts on top are set.

To make the icing: melt the butter and mix with the rest of the ingredients until creamy. Add milk 1 tsp. at a time until you achieve desired consistency. Drizzle over warm cookie bars.

Cool and cut into bars.