Cherry Bars - Chereshyanyk

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 12 teaspoon salt
• 34 cup sugar
• 12 cup butter or 12 cup margarine
• at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 12 cups pitted cherries (fresh or frozen
• thawed and drained or 21-ounce can pitted
• drained)
• confectioners sugar, for garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Sift flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar into large mixing bowl.
3. Add butter or margarine, and, using clean hands, blend until mixture looks like coarse bread crumbs.
4. In small mixing bowl, use mixing spoon to stir lemon juice, lemon rind, and sour cream.
5. Add to flour mixture, and mix well.
6. The dough should be soft.
7. Set aside about 1 cup of dough to use as topping.
8. Press dough evenly over bottom of nonstick or lightly greased and floured 9-inch baking pan.
9. Form a raised edge (about 1/4-inch) around the edges of pan to hold in the filling.
10. Spread fruit evenly over the dough, staying within the raised edge.
11. Using 1 cup dough set aside for topping, pinch off marble size pieces and drop them onto fruit filling, polka dot fashion.
12. Bake in oven for about 30 minutes, or until lightly browned.
13. To serve, cool to warm, sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, and cut into serving size squares or bars.