Cherry Cheese Danish Bars

Ingredients

1. 3 cups all-purpose flour
2. 1 teaspoon baking powder
3. 1 teaspoon salt
4. 1 cup butter, at room temperature
5. 2 1/4 cups sugar, divided
6. 5 eggs, divided
7. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8. 2 cans cherry pie filling
9. 1 8-oz. package cream cheese, at room temperature
10. 1 cup powdered sugar
11. 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
12. 2-3 tablespoons milk

Intructions:

1. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and stir to incorporate; set aside.
2. Cream butter and 2 cups sugar for two minutes with an electric mixer. Add 4 eggs and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Gradually add flour mixture and mix until all ingredients are incorporated to form a dough.
3. Grease a 15x10x1 pan then press half of the dough into the bottom of the pan. Cover with wax or parchment paper then use your hands to spread the dough evenly if desired.
4. Combine cream cheese, remaining egg and 1/4 cup sugar and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Spread cream cheese mixture over dough. Spread cherry pie filling over cream cheese mixture.
5. Top cherries with remaining dough by evenly dolloping on small spoonfuls until all dough is used. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until dough is golden brown. Cool completely.
6. Combine powdered sugar, almond extract and milk to make a glaze (start with 2 tablespoons milk and add more if necessary to make the glaze thin enough to pour. Drizzle glaze over bars then cut into squares. Store at room temperature in an air-tight container.
7. The recipes makes approximately 32 bars.

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