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!
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
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 amazing!! I can’t wait to try them!
I love that combination too! I just tried a mixture of almond butter and frozen cherries and it was divine! These bars look fabulous! :)
Love the new header! It’s much more cheery than your old one!
These look dangerously addictive! I love the new summer banner too. :)
LA-HUUUVVV THE NEW HEADER!!
Yum-I LOVE cherries and your chia jam – been obsessed and made tons of strawberry and blueberry already. However I’m not sure that a bag of cherries will last long enough in the house to actually make the jam!
Btw- love the new header
Your photos are so good I could ALmost taste them(drool)…they look sooo good! I loved your blueberry/chia jam and just yesterday did it with strawberries and raspberries AND now cherries(love!!)
Amazing as always.
Hello! Great recipe! I read your blog often, but its my first time commenting! I really want to try this recipe, love the almond cherry combo and like that these seem really healthy! However, I do not have brown rice flour, and do not want to purchase it just for this recipe…so I was wondering if it would be possible to just use whole wheat or all purpose flour or even rye flour? Thank you!
Im sure another flour would work too :) Let me know what you try!
made these yesterday, my husband didn’t believe they were healthy!
Very tasty, satisfies the sweet tooth without the guilt!!
Gorgeous! I adore the combination of almond and fruit – blueberries, apricots, cherries, you name it. I love how versitile these bars can be, too. So easy to use whatever jam you like. Will definitely have to try these out! Just as soon as it cools down enough to turn on the oven… :P
Those look SO good!!!! What an incredible recipe, Angela! :D
Hi Angela! These look outrageously good. Quick question: would almond paste (almost like marzipan) be vegan? I’m not sure if it has trace amounts of any non-vegan ingredients, but I’m curious about future baking ventures with or without it. Thanks so much!
Im not positive but I would check the ingredients on the package. I would also think it’s vegan but you never know sometimes. hah
Cherry + almonds are so good together! Throw a little chocolate in there, and I think calling it heaven would be appropriate ;)
Your almond thumbprint cookies are my new favorite cookies. I can’t wait to try these… already adding them to the grocery list!
Angela – To make the almond meal, if I use Blue Diamond almonds which aren’t raw will that work ok? And how ground up is “meal”?
Thanks for your great site and recipes!!
Farah
Hi, Angela! I’ve been following your blog for some time now since a friend introduced me to it. First I just want to thank you for all of the wonderful GF recipes that you post! I made these bars tonight and they are OUTSTANDING! Thank you for this recipe! Have a great week!
Hey Jill, I’m so glad you enjoyed the squares! Thanks so much for reading. :)
Hello! I feel so grateful for stumbling upon your site! Wow, amazing topics, recipes, insights and more!!!! Question, in your recipes have you ever experimented with xyla/xylatol..the stevia like sweetner from hardwood trees…zero calories and does not raise blood sugar levels. Just wondering what you think, aparently no adverse side effects. Thanks again for providing a such a fabulous source of information.
Lisa
Hey Lisa, It’s so nice to meet you, thanks for your kind words!
I haven’t tried xylatol. I had some pretty bad stomach issues when I used to eat other artificial sweeteners so I have just stayed away from them all. I’m not knocking it by any means, just dont have any personal experience using it. Do you enjoy it?
I just took these out of the oven and I can’t wait to dig in. I am hoping a dinner of maple baked beans and cherry almond squares for dessert will convince my husband that healthy is delicious!! Love you blog :)
typo, love “your” blog.
Thank you Caryn!
I made your bars! Super yum! Thanks! http://www.singerskitchen.com/2012/07/we-are-moving.html
So glad you enjoyed them!