Fresh cherries and coconut are baked into a gooey, sweetly tart filling over a crisp shortbread crust to create these Cherry Coconut Bars.
These bars were a huge hit with friends and family when I made them and there wasn’t a single bar leftover.
With fresh cherries finally in abundance, I’m making the most of them while they last. The season (read: the inexpensive cherries) will only last a few weeks and we’ve been eating cherries almost every day.
For more cherry inspiration, check out a few more great recipes!
How To Make A Homemade Cherry Pitter
Chocolate Cherry Almond Brownies
Berry Cherry Breakfast Smoothie
Brown Sugar and Almond Cherry Coffeecake
Check out all of the Gluten Free Dessert Recipes on this website!
Baking Tip: If you would like to double this recipe, it will fill a standard 9×13 pan. You can make this recipe in an 8, 9 or 10 inch square pan. Simply increase the cooking times by a minute or two for slightly thicker bars in the smaller size pans. If you decide to double the recipe, the bars freeze well and thaw perfectly in less than an hour.
Cherry Coconut Bars
Ingredients
Crust Ingredients
- ½ cup butter melted
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour*
*Gluten-Free Alternative for the Crust
- ⅓ cup tapioca starch
- ⅔ cup brown rice flour
Filling Ingredients
- 1 cup pitted and diced fresh sweet cherries about 2 cups worth whole cherries
- 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour**
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons almond extract
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, about ½ a lemon
**Gluten-Free Alternative for the Filling
- ¼ cup brown rice flour
Topping Ingredients
- 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Stir together the butter, sugar, and flour for the crust. Press the mixture into the bottom of a well-greased or parchment lined 10” square pan. Bake for 12 minutes
- Remove from the oven and let the crust cool for 10 minutes while preparing the filling. Place the diced cherries and 1 cup of shredded coconut in a bowl. Sprinkle with flour, brown sugar and salt. Stir to coat. Mix together the eggs, almond extract and lemon juice and stir into the cherry mixture.
- Pour the filling over the crust and top with the remaining coconut. Bake for 25-27 minutes, until the coconut turns golden brown. Let cool completely before slicing. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
{originally published 7/21/14 – recipe notes and photos updated 6/28/22}
Karen @ The Food Charlatan says
These looks delicious Mary! I've been looking for a recipe to use up the cherries I have!
Sue/the view from great island says
These look heavenly.
BHS says
I'm making these right now!
BHS says
These are fantastic! I subbed in unsweetened coconut flakes rather than the sweetened shreds, and just sprinkled some muscovadomsugar on top to accent the sweetness – theyr'e jammy, tart, sweet without going overboard, and I love the texture!
Emmajune says
I appreciate your comment ! I’m not a huge fan of sweetened coconut, but always follow recipes the first time, as written. Now I know I can sub in the unsweetened flakes. Thanks for the input !
Sue says
I just made them. They taste great but a word of warning.. I used two cups fresh whole cherries. It was too much. The filling was soggy. I will make this again but will make sure I measure exactly 1 cup diced cherries.
Rachel says
These are so yummy and easy to make. Finally found a keeper recipe for all those fresh picked cherries.
Gayle says
So happy I stumbled upon this recipe. These are calling my name. I’ll be making these tomorrow along with a batch of Chocolate Chip Cherry Bars with the remaining bags of cherries waiting to be consumed.
Mary Younkin says
I hope you love the coconut bars, Gayle! Enjoy, and happy baking.
Debi says
I found this recipe very confusing…didn’t understand about the amount of cherries ..could you just state what is needed? I was doubling it so that even made it worse. What about all the cherry juice? Should it be drained?
Then the coconut amounts were screwy..you called for a cup then said there should be left overs to top it?
Mary Younkin says
Hi, Debi. In the recipe card, the recipe calls for one cup of pitted and diced fresh cherries, which should be about two cups of unprepped, fresh cherries. The filling calls for one cup of shredded coconut, and the topping calls for another cup of shredded coconut. I hope this helps; happy baking!