Decadent Cherry Revel Bars: The Ultimate Fudgy Chocolate Oatmeal Cookie Bar Recipe
Prepare for a truly irresistible dessert experience with these **Cherry Revel Bars**! These delightful cookie bars feature a rich, fudgy dark chocolate filling generously studded with fresh, juicy cherries, all nestled between a chewy, oat-infused crust. Perfect for sharing with a crowd or simply indulging yourself, this recipe delivers a satisfying blend of textures and flavors that will have everyone coming back for more. It’s a decadent treat that perfectly marries the sweetness of cherries with the deep notes of dark chocolate, creating an unforgettable dessert bar that’s ideal for any occasion.
Fresh cherries hold a special place in my heart – a delightful weakness that reminds me of childhood summers spent at my grandmother’s house, plucking them right from the tree. There’s nothing quite like the taste of a perfectly ripe, sun-kissed cherry, whether enjoyed fresh or baked into a delicious dessert. While I adore baking with fresh cherries, their seasonal availability and sometimes hefty price tag can make them a luxury. Moreover, the task of pitting a large batch of cherries can be quite a chore, sometimes dampening the enthusiasm for a cherry-infused baking project.
That’s where these exquisite cherry revel bars truly shine. This recipe cleverly utilizes just 2 cups of chopped fresh cherries, delivering an abundance of vibrant cherry flavor without requiring an excessive quantity or the tedious work of pitting a hundred cherries. It’s the perfect balance, ensuring you get that delightful fruity burst in every bite. To make the process even smoother, a reliable cherry pitter available on Amazon can be a game-changer, significantly speeding up prep time and making this seasonal delight accessible to every home baker. Whether you’re a seasoned cherry enthusiast or new to baking with fresh fruit, this small investment can save you a lot of time and effort, allowing you to enjoy the fresh taste of summer in these incredible chocolate cherry bars.
What Exactly are Revel Bars?
A revel bar is a beloved classic in the world of cookie bars, celebrated for its incredible layers of texture and taste. At its heart, a revel bar features a delightfully chewy, rolled oat-infused crust that forms the base and crumbles on top. This rustic, hearty base perfectly complements a rich, fudgy chocolate filling that is truly the star of the show. The result is a harmonious blend of crispy edges, a soft and chewy oat crust, and a creamy, deeply chocolatey center. When you combine the beloved qualities of a traditional revel bar with the tart-sweet burst of fresh cherries, you create a dessert that is simply irresistible. The classic combination of cherries and chocolate is a match made in heaven, hard to pass up for any dessert lover.
My cherry revel bars build upon the traditional concept but elevate it with a few key enhancements. Unlike a purely chocolate revel bar, this recipe introduces generous amounts of chopped sweet cherries into the fudgy layer, adding a bright, fruity counterpoint to the rich chocolate. Furthermore, I specifically opt for dark chocolate chips for the chocolate layer, which pairs exquisitely with the natural sweetness and slight tartness of the cherries, creating a more sophisticated and deeply flavored bar. However, your preference dictates the chocolate! If dark chocolate isn’t your favorite, milk chocolate or even white chocolate chips would work wonderfully, each offering a unique twist to these already fantastic bars. The versatility means you can tailor these chocolate cookie bars to precisely match your craving.
Why These Cherry Revel Bars Will Be Your New Favorite
These cherry revel bars aren’t just another dessert; they are a celebration of flavor and texture, designed to impress and satisfy. Here’s why they deserve a spot in your baking rotation:
- **Irresistible Flavor Combination:** The marriage of juicy fresh cherries and intense dark chocolate is a classic for a reason. The sweet-tart burst of fruit cuts through the richness of the chocolate, creating a perfectly balanced bite every time.
- **Amazing Texture Profile:** From the chewy, slightly crispy oatmeal crust to the soft, gooey, fudgy chocolate-cherry center, these bars offer a delightful medley of textures that keeps things interesting and makes every bite exciting.
- **Perfect for Any Occasion:** Whether you’re hosting a potluck, attending a family gathering, or simply looking for a delightful treat to enjoy at home, these bars are incredibly versatile. They travel well, store beautifully, and always disappear fast! They are a fantastic dessert bar option for any event.
- **Simple Yet Impressive:** While the end result looks and tastes sophisticated, the process of making these revel bars is surprisingly straightforward. Even novice bakers can achieve spectacular results with this easy-to-follow recipe.
- **Seasonal Delight:** Baking with fresh cherries is a wonderful way to celebrate summer’s bounty. This recipe allows you to capture that seasonal goodness in a truly special way, bringing the taste of summer into your home.
- **Crowd-Pleaser:** With a recipe yielding 40 servings, these bars are inherently designed to feed a crowd. No need to double batches; one pan is often enough to make everyone happy and satisfied.
Essential Ingredients for Your Cherry Revel Bars
Crafting these delectable cherry chocolate oatmeal bars requires a combination of pantry staples and fresh ingredients. Most items are likely already in your kitchen, making this recipe easily accessible. Using fresh, high-quality ingredients will always yield the best flavor, especially when it comes to the cherries and chocolate, which are key players in this recipe.
- Butter
- All-purpose Flour
- Brown Sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- Baking Soda
- Rolled Oats (Old-fashioned oats work best for a chewy texture)
- Dark Chocolate Chips (or your preferred variety for the chocolate layer)
- Sweetened Condensed Milk
- Fresh Sweet Cherries (pitted and chopped)
- Granulated Sugar
- Cornstarch
How to Make These Delicious Cherry Revel Bars
The process of making these fudgy cherry oatmeal bars is divided into a few simple steps: preparing the oat crust, crafting the rich chocolate filling, and then assembling all the layers before baking. While the full detailed instructions are in the recipe card below, here’s a quick overview to get you started on your baking adventure and understand the workflow for these delightful chocolate cherry bars:
- **Prepare the Crust:** You’ll start by creaming softened butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Then, you’ll gradually incorporate the dry ingredients – flour, baking soda, and finally the rolled oats – to form a stiff, yet pliable dough. This versatile dough will serve as both the sturdy base and the delightful, crumbly top layer of your bars, providing that characteristic oatmeal cookie bar texture.
- **Craft the Chocolate Cherry Filling:** This luscious and intensely flavorful filling comes together quickly on the stovetop. Simply melt dark chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk and a bit of butter over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth and glossy. A generous touch of vanilla extract is stirred in at the very end, enhancing the aroma and depth of the chocolate layer.
- **Prepare the Cherries:** Fresh, pitted cherries are chopped into bite-sized pieces and then lightly tossed with granulated sugar and cornstarch. The cornstarch is key here, as it helps to thicken any natural juices released by the cherries during baking, ensuring your fudgy chocolate layer remains perfectly rich and doesn’t become watery.
- **Assemble and Bake:** The layering is straightforward: press about two-thirds of the oat crust dough evenly into your prepared baking pan to form the base. Next, carefully pour the prepared chocolate filling over the crust, spreading it evenly almost to each edge of the pan. Evenly scatter the cornstarch-coated chopped cherries over the chocolate layer. Finally, drop the remaining oat dough by small teaspoonfuls over the top of the cherry and chocolate layer, creating a beautifully rustic, crumbly topping, and finish with a sprinkle of extra chocolate chips. Bake until golden and fragrant, allowing to cool completely before slicing.
Follow the detailed recipe card for precise measurements and timings to achieve perfect results every time, ensuring your cherry revel bars are nothing short of spectacular!
Tips for Baking Perfect Cherry Revel Bars
To ensure your cherry revel bars turn out absolutely perfect, with that ideal balance of chewy crust and fudgy filling, here are some invaluable tips and tricks:
- **Room Temperature Ingredients are Crucial:** For the crust, make sure your butter and eggs are at room temperature. This allows them to cream together more effectively with the sugar, resulting in a smoother, more uniform dough and a superior texture in your finished oatmeal bars. Cold ingredients can lead to a lumpy dough and a less tender crust.
- **Don’t Overmix the Dough:** Once you add the flour and rolled oats, mix just until combined. Overmixing can overdevelop the gluten in the flour, leading to tougher, less tender bars. A gentle hand is best for that perfect chewy-crispy texture.
- **Pitting Cherries Efficiently:** As mentioned, a cherry pitter is highly recommended for quick and easy pitting, especially if you plan to bake with cherries often. If you don’t have one, a sturdy straw or a piping tip can also be used to push the pit through the stem end of the cherry.
- **Choosing Your Cherries Wisely:** Sweet cherries like Bing or Rainier are ideal for this recipe, offering a wonderful balance with the intense dark chocolate. If using tart cherries, you might want to slightly increase the amount of granulated sugar tossed with the cherries, or opt for a sweeter chocolate like milk chocolate chips in the filling, to counteract the tartness.
- **Fresh vs. Frozen Cherries:** While fresh cherries are preferred for their vibrant texture and taste, frozen cherries can be used as a convenient alternative. If using frozen, thaw them completely first and drain any excess liquid thoroughly before tossing them with cornstarch and sugar. You might need to add a little more cornstarch if they seem particularly watery after thawing.
- **Lining Your Pan is Non-Negotiable:** Always line your 15x10x1-inch baking sheet with heavy-duty foil or parchment paper, ensuring you leave a generous overhang on the sides. This makes it incredibly easy to lift the entire slab of cooled bars out of the pan, preventing sticking and making the cutting process much simpler and cleaner.
- **Evenly Spreading the Dough:** The oat dough for the crust is quite stiff. For the bottom layer, press it firmly and evenly into the pan, using your hands or the back of a spoon to create a uniform base. For the top layer, dropping it by small teaspoonfuls ensures a delightful, crumbly topping that gets beautifully browned and adds to the revel bar’s signature look.
- **Patience is a Virtue: Cooling is Key:** Resist the urge to cut into the bars immediately after they come out of the oven! Revel bars need to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. This is absolutely crucial for the fudgy chocolate layer to set properly, resulting in clean, well-defined bars that hold their shape. Chilling them in the fridge for an hour or two after cooling can make them even easier to cut into perfect squares.
- **Proper Storage:** Store your cherry revel bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They taste fantastic cold, and chilling them helps maintain their fudgy texture and freshness for up to a week.
Variations and Creative Add-Ins for Your Revel Bars
While these cherry revel bars are perfect as they are, don’t hesitate to get creative and customize them to your liking. These suggestions can add new dimensions of flavor and texture to your already delicious oatmeal bars:
- **Nutty Boost:** For an added layer of crunch and flavor, consider folding 1/2 cup of chopped toasted nuts – such as almonds, walnuts, or pecans – into the oat crust mixture. The nutty flavor complements both cherries and chocolate beautifully.
- **Spice It Up:** A pinch of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, or even a dash of almond extract (which pairs wonderfully with cherries) in either the oat crust or the chocolate filling can add another layer of warmth and complexity to the flavor profile.
- **Different Chocolates:** As mentioned, feel free to swap dark chocolate chips for milk chocolate, white chocolate, or even a delightful mix of different varieties to suit your personal taste. Chocolate chunks could also be a fun textural addition, providing larger pockets of melted chocolate.
- **Citrus Zest:** A teaspoon of finely grated orange or lemon zest, incorporated into the cherry mixture, can brighten the overall flavor profile and add a refreshing counterpoint to the richness.
- **Coconut Love:** For a subtle tropical twist and extra chewiness, incorporate 1/2 cup of shredded sweetened or unsweetened coconut into the oat crust mixture.
- **Boozy Cherries (Adult Version):** For an indulgent adult twist, soak the pitted and chopped cherries in a tablespoon or two of cherry liqueur (like kirsch), amaretto, or brandy for about 30 minutes before tossing them with cornstarch and sugar. This infuses them with a sophisticated flavor.
Serving Suggestions for Your Revel Bars
These cherry revel bars are absolutely delicious on their own, offering a complete and satisfying dessert experience. However, here are a few ideas to elevate your serving and truly make them a showstopper:
- **Warm with Ice Cream:** Gently warm a bar in the microwave for a few seconds and serve it with a generous scoop of high-quality vanilla bean ice cream. The melting ice cream and warm, fudgy bar are pure bliss, creating an irresistible dessert.
- **Dust with Powdered Sugar:** A light dusting of powdered sugar just before serving adds an elegant touch and a subtle extra sweetness that enhances the presentation of these cookie bars.
- **With a Cup of Coffee or Tea:** The rich flavors of chocolate and cherry pair wonderfully with a hot beverage like a freshly brewed coffee or a comforting cup of tea, making it a perfect afternoon treat or an after-dinner indulgence.
- **Whipped Cream Topping:** A dollop of freshly made whipped cream can add a delightful lightness and creaminess that perfectly complements the dense and fudgy texture of the bars.
Looking for more fantastic dessert cookie bar combinations? I highly recommend exploring these delicious recipes to satisfy all your bar-baking cravings:
- Classic Chocolate Revel Bars
- Raspberry White Chocolate Shortbread Bars
- Irresistible Churro Bars
- Cozy Apple Cinnamon Bars
Cherry Revel Bars
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Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter (softened to room temp)
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 12 ounce bag dark chocolate chips, divided
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups chopped fresh cherries
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and line a 15x10x1-inch baking sheet with heavy-duty foil, ensuring some overhang on the sides for easy removal.
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**Prepare the Crust:** In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat one cup of softened butter until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add half of the all-purpose flour to the butter, then add the brown sugar, large eggs, 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, and the baking soda. Beat until well combined, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to ensure all ingredients are incorporated. Add in the remaining flour and stir well. Finally, add the rolled oats and stir until just combined. This dough will be quite stiff and thick. Set the mixture aside.
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**Make the Chocolate Filling:** In a small saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups of the dark chocolate chips, the entire can of sweetened condensed milk, and 2 tablespoons of butter. Heat this mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, until all the chocolate chips are completely melted and the mixture is smooth and glossy. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.
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**Prepare the Cherries:** In a small separate bowl, gently combine the chopped fresh cherries with the granulated sugar and cornstarch, ensuring the cherries are evenly coated. This helps prevent the cherries from sinking and thickens their juices.
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**Assemble the Bars:** Take approximately 3 1/2 cups of the stiff oat crust dough and press it evenly into the bottom of the foil-lined baking sheet. Spread it out with your hands or the back of a spoon to create a uniform base. Next, carefully pour the prepared chocolate filling over the crust, spreading it evenly almost to each edge of the pan. Evenly scatter the cornstarch-coated chopped cherries over the chocolate layer. Finally, drop the remaining oat dough by small teaspoonfuls over the top of the cherry and chocolate layer, creating a crumbly topping. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips.
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**Bake and Cool:** Bake in the preheated oven at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 25 minutes, or until the crumbly oat topping is lightly golden brown. The chocolate layer will still appear slightly moist and soft when you take it out. This is normal and contributes to the fudgy texture. Allow the bars to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. This is crucial for the bars to set properly. Once fully cooled, use the foil overhang to gently lift the entire slab out of the pan. Cut into desired bar sizes and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator to maintain freshness and texture.
