Cherry Pastry Bars

Photo courtesy of The Country Cook 

This is a recipe I got from a coworker MANY years ago. I don't have a lot of notes written on the recipe, and I don't exactly remember the last time I made these, but I did write on there that it was very good. It resembles many of the recipes you can find online for cherry pastry/pie bars. You use canned pie filling, and can use any flavor of pie filling that you desire. 

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Cream together:

1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar

Add:

4 eggs, one at a time
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Plus:

1 or 2 (20 -oz) can(s) cherry pie filling

Glaze (Combine all the ingredients until smooth.)

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract (may also try 1/2 tsp each of vanilla and almond extracts) 

1 -2 tbsp milk

Directions:

Spread half of the batter in a greased 9 x 13" pan. Spread 1 can cherry pie filling evenly over the batter. Drop the remaining batter over the pie filling by spoonfuls, then gently spread. You can also just rop dollops of the batter on top, leaving some of the pie filling exposed. Bake 350 degrees for 35 - 45 minutes. Cool slightly, then drizzle the glaze over the warm bars. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.