Southern Gooey Butter Bars with Cherries

Share to Social

These Southern Gooey Butter Bars with Cherries combine a buttery puff pastry crust, a full layer of cherry pie filling, and a rich, chewy cream cheese topping. It's an easy shortcut dessert that's perfect for potlucks, cookouts, holidays, and Sunday supper.

If you love cherry pie, cheesecake, and gooey butter bars, this easy dessert brings all three together in one rich and delicious treat. A buttery puff pastry crust is topped with a full layer of cherry pie filling and a sweet cream cheese gooey butter topping, then baked until golden around the edges and soft in the center.

These Cherry Gooey Butter Bars are incredibly simple to make thanks to two of my favorite baking shortcuts: store-bought puff pastry and canned cherry pie filling.

An Easy Southern Dessert with Puff Pastry

I was craving something sweet when I came up with this recipe. I'd been baking for days, but somehow everything I'd made had either been given away or tucked into the freezer for later.

And what I really wanted was a gooey butter bar.

I happened to have a sheet of puff pastry in the refrigerator, along with a can of cherry pie filling and a block of cream cheese. At first I thought about making some sort of cherry cheesecake bar or perhaps a simple cherry Danish. Then it hit me: 

Why not make southern gooey butter bars with cherries?

Instead of the traditional cake-style crust, I decided to use the puff pastry as the bottom layer, add an entire can of cherry pie filling, and cover the whole thing with a rich cream cheese gooey butter topping.

Honestly, sometimes the best desserts begin with staring into the refrigerator and wondering what you can make with what you've already got.

What Are Gooey Butter Bars?

Traditional gooey butter cake is known for its rich, sweet filling and soft, almost underbaked texture. There are many versions, including recipes made completely from scratch and shortcut versions that begin with a boxed cake mix.

For this recipe, I went in a completely different direction.

The puff pastry becomes the buttery base, the cherry pie filling adds a sweet-tart fruit layer, and the cream cheese mixture bakes into that luscious gooey topping I was craving.

It's a little bit cherry pie, a little bit cheesecake, and a whole lot of gooey butter goodness. And y'all, I'm pretty sure those southern potluck ladies would love it. It's simple, delicious, and feeds a crowd. (No one will know you didn't slave all day.)

Ingredients

You'll find a full printable recipe card at the bottom of this post, but here's a quick look at what you'll need:

For the Bars

• 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
• 1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon almond extract, optional
• Pinch of salt

Optional Topping

• Powdered sugar for dusting

How to Make Cherry Gooey Butter Bars

These come together quickly, which makes them perfect when you want an impressive dessert without making a complicated crust or filling from scratch.

Step 1: Prepare the Pan

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Lightly spray a 7×11-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. A 9x9 is also a good option.

Line the dish with parchment paper, leaving enough overhang on the long sides to help lift the bars from the pan after baking.

Step 2: Add the Puff Pastry

Unfold the thawed sheet of puff pastry and place it in the prepared baking dish.

Gently press the pastry across the bottom and allow the excess pastry to come up the sides of the dish. There's no need for it to look perfect. Mine had plenty of folds and ruffles around the edges.

Use a fork to dock the pastry across the bottom.

There's also no need to par-bake the pastry for this recipe.

Step 3: Add the Cherry Filling

Spoon the entire 21-ounce can of cherry pie filling over the puff pastry. Spread it into an even layer.

And yes, I wondered if the whole can would be too much for my 7×11-inch pan. It wasn't. The amount was just right.

Step 4: Make the Gooey Butter Topping

Place the softened cream cheese in a mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Add the eggs, melted butter, vanilla extract, almond extract (if using), and pinch of salt. Beat until well combined.

Gradually add the powdered sugar and continue beating until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

Step 5: Assemble the Bars

Pour the cream cheese mixture over the cherry pie filling. Gently spread it into an even layer, taking care not to disturb the cherries underneath.

The cream cheese mixture should cover most or all of the cherry filling.

Step 6: Bake

Place the baking dish on a lower-middle rack of the preheated 350°F oven.

Bake until the cream cheese layer is set around the outside but remains slightly soft in the center. Set your timer for 30 minutes to place foil on top.

At 30 minutes the exposed puff pastry around the perimeter should also be puffed and golden brown. This is a good time to loosely tent a piece of foil on top of the dish. Just make sure it's not touching the top of the bars.

Bake for another 20 - 25 minutes or a total of 50-55 minutes.

Don't overbake these. Gooey butter bars are supposed to be gooey!

Step 7: Cool

Place the baking dish on a wire rack and allow the bars to cool completely.

Use the parchment paper to lift the dessert from the pan before slicing if you like.

If you like, dust the top lightly with powdered sugar before serving.

What to Expect from These Cherry Bars

I'm expecting three distinct layers: buttery puff pastry on the bottom, a bright cherry pie layer in the middle, and a rich, chewy-gooey cream cheese layer on top.

Once I've tasted them, I'll come back and tell you exactly how the texture turned out.

---

Variations

This recipe opens the door to all sorts of possibilities. Try swapping the cherry pie filling for blueberry, apple, peach, or strawberry pie filling. You could also leave out the almond extract or use a little lemon extract or lemon zest with blueberry filling.

For an extra-pretty presentation, dust the cooled bars with powdered sugar. A simple vanilla or almond glaze would work, too, although these bars should be plenty sweet without it.

I haven't tried it yet but I also wondered about a pecan pie filling. Under the gooey butter topping? On top? I'm not sure, but my mind is reeling as I think it through! (Yum!)

Storage

Because these bars contain cream cheese and eggs, store leftovers covered in the refrigerator. They should keep well for several days.

For the best texture, let a refrigerated bar sit at room temperature briefly before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Delicious Desserts to Try

If you love easy desserts, we've got plenty at Backyard Texas Grill. Here are some of our favorites:

• Easy Caramel Apple Dumplings
• Easy Cowboy Blondies
• Old-Fashioned Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce
• Old-Fashioned Southern Blueberry Cobbler
• Get all of our desserts here: Desserts to Enjoy!

Final Thoughts

Sometimes you don't need a special occasion to bake something sweet. Sometimes you've spent several days baking, given everything away, filled your freezer with the rest, and realize there isn't a single gooey dessert left in the house for you.

That's how these Cherry Gooey Butter Bars came to be.

With puff pastry, canned cherry pie filling, and a simple cream cheese topping, they're easy enough to throw together on a whim but decadent enough to feel like a real treat.

And some days, that's exactly what you need.

Thanks for Stopping By!

If you make this delicious dessert and enjoy it please leave a comment or review. And before you go, please pin some photos to your Pinterest boards. (Those pins help us out a lot!)

Meet the Cook

Janice Thompson is happy to be on the Backyard Texas Grill team where she often shares her favorites desserts and sides.