Fruit Squares | Cherry Family Favorite

This is my family’s cherry fruit squares recipe!  I grew up loving and eating this delicious dessert.

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Traditions

When I was growing up, dessert after dinner was a given.  I wonder if people still have after dinner dessert regularly.  Do you have dessert after dinner?  I’d really like to know, so leave me a comment.

I have to say that sometimes I would eat dinner just so I could have the dessert!  I would eat especially fast when it was a food I disliked as I relay in this post. The reason is that I figured the faster I got through the meal, the quicker I could get that dessert into my belly.

Not that I was ever allowed to, but years ago, I could eat a whole cake myself.

Seriously, no lie.

That’s how much I loved having dessert.

I still love dessert, but could I eat a whole cake?  Probably not.  I couldn’t for a few reasons.

One being, I do not want the weight gain that would invariably happen if I undertook that endeavor.  It would go straight to my thighs and that would not be good.  The second reason is I think I’d get physically sick if I tried because it would be too sweet.

I remember my grandmother saying, “That dessert is too sweet.”

And I remember thinking how could she say that?  I had never met a dessert that was too sweet, even the dense chocolate ones.

But now I understand.

Oh, too well.  Which is probably good since my thighs thank me.

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How to make the cherry fruit squares

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

I start off my lugging out my stand mixer and placing some room temperature butter into it along with some cane sugar.

I turn the mixer on medium and cream them together. Also, I add some vanilla, salt and the eggs one at a time and mix them until they are incorporated.

Time for the dry ingredient.  Even though the cherry pie filling isn’t dry, I added it because it’s the star of the show.

I add my beloved sprouted spelt flour and turn the mixer on again until it’s incorporated.

Grease that pan

I don my glove because my assistant that usually greases my pans was at work.  I get out my 8 X 8 pan and liberally grease it.

Next, I divide the batter in half and press half of it in the bottom of the pan.  I also open the can of cherry filling.

Time to spread a little more than half of the can of cherry filling on top of that layer of batter.  You can use the whole can but I find the amount I use perfect.

Now, I take a spoon and scoop out some batter and plop it on the cherry filling.  I do this until all the batter is used up.

Perfecto!!

Time to bake it for 45 minutes.  (Now, if you double this recipe like my family does, you will bake it between 55 – 60 minutes.)

DING

⏰

I let it rest for 10 minutes before I cut it into nine squares.  You can wait longer but it’s super tasty warm.

I lift a piece of cherry fruit squares and get ready to plate it.

Look at all that cherry goodness!  Yum.

Mission complete.  One of the cherry fruit squares is plated and ready to eat!  I take that fork and cut into the square.

YUM.  So nice and fruity.  The cake part is a perfect complement to the cherry.  My family use all purpose flour and you can too, but I prefer my spelt.

I hope you enjoyed this cherry fruit squares recipe!

Please feel free to leave me a comment to tell me what your ‘family’s dessert’ is.  I’d love to know.

And as always, may all your dishes be delish!

If you’ve tried this cherry fruit squares or any other recipe on the blog, I’d love the hear what you thought about it in the comments below.  I love hearing from you!  You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST  to see more of my delicious food and delightful cocktails!

My Family’s Cherry Fruit Squares

This fruity cake is so delicious that you'll want it once a week. You can use any pie filling. They are all good!

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Dessert

Keyword: fruit squares

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Servings: 9 squares

Calories: 304kcal

Author: Elaine Benoit

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 can cherry filling I used a little over 1/2 a can

Pan

8 x 8 pan, greased liberally

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 F
• In a stand mixer, add butter and sugar and mix until incorporated
• Add vanilla, salt and one egg at a time and mix until both eggs are incorporated
• Add flour and mix until combined
• Divide dough in half and press half in greased pan
• Spread cherry filling on batter layer
• Plop tablespoons of batter on top of the fruit layer
• Bake for 40 - 45 minutes
• Let cake cool for 10 minutes before cutting into squares
• Serve warm or cold
• Eat a forkful
• Sigh
• Smile
• Enjoy

Nutrition

Serving: 1square | Calories: 304kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 142mg | Potassium: 70mg | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 435IU | Vitamin C: 1.2mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1.2mg