Here’s a fun summer square that highlights two of my favourite foods – summer cherries and almonds! I don’t know what it is, but I just love the combination of almonds and cherries.
Add a touch of almond extract and it puts me over the edge in bliss.
I adapted my Raspberry Almond Thumbprint Cookies to make this recipe because I absolutely love the almond cookie dough. The magic is in the almond meal base; it creates a lovely “buttery” flavour without any added oil required.
These squares are lightly sweetened which allows the almonds and cherries to really shine and it’s also gluten-free making it a treat many people can enjoy. For the fruit layer, I made cherry chia jam, but feel free to use any jam – prepared or homemade – as you wish. Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries would all work well here!
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Triple Almond Cherry Crumble Squares
Yield
One 8 inch pan
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
These are so wholesome I found them on my breakfast plate crumbled over blueberry vegan overnight oats one morning. Enjoy them on their own or serve with a scoop of ice cream for dessert. I used agave in this recipe because I was out of maple syrup and it worked great. Feel free to use whichever you wish, keeping in mind that agave is a bit sweeter per tablespoon so you might need an extra tablespoon of maple syrup if you go that route. Be sure to poke holes in the dough with a fork before baking. I didn’t do this and the dough puffed up on me in the middle, but it was easily fixed with a poke once out of the oven.
Adapted from my Raspberry Almond Thumbprint Cookies.
Ingredients
For the almond squares
- 1 & 1/2 cup raw almonds, ground into meal (or 1.5 cups + 2 tbsp almond meal)
- 1/4 cup brown rice flour
- 2 tbsp ground flax seed
- 1 tsp baking powder
- scant 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup almond butter
- 6 tbsp agave nectar (or maple syrup)
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
For the cherry almond chia seed jam
- 3 cups pitted cherries, roughly chopped
- 2.5 tbsp agave nectar (or maple syrup)
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line an 8-inch square pan with two pieces of parchment paper, one going each direction.
- Place almonds into a high-speed blender and grind into flour, making sure not to process too long or the oils will release. Or use store bought almond meal (use approx 1.5 cups + 2 tbsp almond meal).
- In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together (almond meal, rice flour, ground flax, baking powder, and salt). Use your fingers to break up any clumps of almond meal. In a small bowl, mix together the almond butter, agave, and almond extract. Add wet mixture to dry mixture and stir until thoroughly combined. I got in there with my hands and kneaded the dough together a few times!
- Set aside 1/2 cup of packed dough for crumbling on top of the jam later. Press the rest of the dough into the prepared pan. You may need to lightly wet your fingers as it’s sticky! Smooth it out and poke it with a fork about 8-10 times all over.
- Pre-bake the almond base for 8 minutes at 350°F. Remove and set aside.
- Meanwhile, prepare the chia seed jam (or just use about 3/4-1 cup jam of choice). Add pitted cherries and agave into a medium-sized pot. Bring to a low boil and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for about 10 mins, stirring frequently. Stir in chia seeds and cook until thickened, about 5 mins more. Remove from heat and stir in the almond extract. Try not to burn your tongue shoveling it in your mouth!
- Spread jam over the almond base and smooth out. Now crumble the reserved dough on top. Bake at 350°F for another 12-13 minutes or so, watching closely. Crumble topping will be golden when ready. Cool in pan on a wire rack before attempting to remove, about 30-45 mins. If you are impatient like me, just cut yourself a square right out of the pan while you wait!
Come to mama!
I need to hide these from Eric….he’s obsessed with them and I’m trying to save some for company this weekend. Outlook not good.
If you like these crumble bars but can’t have nuts, you might want to check out my oat-based square recipes below!
and Healthy Strawberry Oat Squares (replace the 2 tbsp almond milk with another non-dairy milk if you need it nut-free)
Now onto the next bag of cherries…muhauha.
These look absolutely delicious!! I’m off to buy cherries now! I might do blueberry/cherry jam since I haven’t gotten to make your blueberry jam yet :)
I have some blueberries I need to use up so I think I might try subbing those for the cherries and make this tomorrow morning!
Almond extract is such a great addition! I’ve been adding it to everything lately – from oats to shakes! It give things a cookie dough-esque taste.
Gorgeous crumble – I can’t get enough cherries this season.
These sound really tasty and I love the idea of that buttery almond base!
Ohh wow! Now I’m starving (well actually, I’ve been craving these bars since I saw them on Instagram last night and didn’t even know what they were!) Great photos Ange!
Beautiful photos as usual Angela! These look so yummy!
I’ve been adding it to everything lately – from oats to shakes! It give things a cookie dough-esque taste.
Thanks
Oh my. These could be my undoing. What gorgeous pix. I’m ready to bake all three of those bars (for scientific taste testing purposes only, natch)! Thanks for the warning re blowing to cool before inhaling the burning hot jam. Will no doubt come in handy. I’ve never made chia seed based jam before, but what a fantastic idea! A natural thickener w/ omegas to boot. Thanks Angela! Love your posts.
hah I speak from experience ;) Enjoy Dana!
Love this idea!! I absolutely love cherries in the summer!
You certainly have me motivated to make these Angela.
They look just simply delicious. Anyone would love them too!
Great pics as well!
Have a great day. :)
Yummy! Cherries are one of my favourite summer fruits. Looks like a great recipe Angela!
Dang lady, this looks amazing. Oh I thought I would update you. We are moving to West Chester, PA. :)
ah congrats! I’m sure it will be a busy summer for you. Goodluck with the move!
I agree with you, almonds & cherries are a great combo. I love the contrast of the blue & red in your photos. Really makes the crumble bars pop.
I’m currently living in Washington state & I’m surrounded by cherry orchards. Cherries are in season now–we just got several gallons of fresh cherries given to us!
Lucky girl…enjoy them!
If only computers came with an edible function *stomach growls* This is an amazing post! :)
Oh WOW, these look SO good! I am slightly obsessed with cherries at the moment so I am definitely going to have to make these. So smart!!
These look absolutley delicious! What an amazing recipe!!
Holy yummers! These look so good!!! I think they will actually fit into phase 1 of the clean eating/fitness plan I just started, so I may have to make them up this weekend — the only problem will be limiting my serving size haha! There really is nothing better than fresh cherries in the summer :-)
Oh mah goodness. I need these, like now. Last year was the first time I had ever tried a fresh cherry ( I KNOW.) and I was waiting ever so [im]patiently for cherry season this year and now am OBSESSED once again. Your chia seed jams look so delicious! And nutritious as well! Just might have to make these with my ginormous bag of cherries :) Have a beautiful day!
Hi Angela!
Wow, these look delicious!
Would I be able to sub the flax meal for something else? I want to make these for my aunt but she’s allergic to flax.
Can any gluten free flour be subbed for rice flour?
I made your stacked up pancakes with kamut flour yesterday morning. They were amazing! Thanks for the recipe!
Hey Tiffany,
Good question! You can sub ground chia for the flax. If you have chia seeds, just grind some in a coffee grinder or blender. I don’t know of another substitute unfortunately. I haven’t made these without the flax, so Im really not sure how much “binding” it does in this recipe.
I would guess you can sub the BR flour for any type of flour you wish.
Glad you enjoyed the pancakes! I was just looking at that recipe yesterday. :)
Thank you so much :)
By any chance, can you share your beauty regimen? Your skin looks flawless! Hope you are having a great week.
Yum – these look like something that would be sold in Starbucks, but so much better! I’m excited to try them because I have a whole thing of almond extract that has been quite neglected – I always find it too strong so I use it in a recipe and then end up feeling like it overpowered the whole thing. I trust your directions though so will give it a go!
Maybe start with half of the extract called for? If you aren’t a fan, it might seem a bit strong, hah
Oh my word! These look SO good! My dad is coming in town this weekend and he LOVES stuff like this – perfect opportunity to try them out.