Reviewed: Jul. 14, 2009

EXCELLENT! I can't *officially* eat any of these until tomorrow, but I did sneak a few bites and they are truely delicious. They reminded me of a shortbread cookie and a blondie combined...only better! I added all the optional ingredients because I love all of them, and will actually use more cherries than called for next time. I didn't feel the chocolate chips overpowered these at all. They also only took 25 mins. in my oven (as stated in the recipe), but my oven is known to be extra hot, so that could be why I didn't have any problems with the cooking time as other reviewers did. I am definately making these for my cousins wedding in Oct., and can't wait to make them for Christmas and use a combo of red/green maraschino cherries. Thanks for the AWESOME recipe, Bug! :)

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Christina

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

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Reviewed: Jul. 12, 2009

I made these for my son and his wife to take to the coast as they were going to meet her family for a vacation. She called back this am and said everyone wanted the recipe so they could make more today, so I would say they are a hit. Now I am going to make some for us. Thank you CookinBug for making me look like a "good cook" to my daugher in laws family.

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alafan

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Jul. 10, 2009

Rated a 4 only because the cook time is off - it does take about 40 minutes in an accurate 350 oven. Very good but the choc. chips overpowered everything else. Will be making them again and try pecans and cherries.

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NewsteadECS

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Jul. 10, 2009

These are good. I do think there are too many chocolate chips AND I added cream cheese. It did take 45 min. to cook, so be cautious and check the middle, because the outsides will cook faster. Overall, pretty good. I'm going to mix it up next time and use Heath Bar chunks or Reese chunks! Thanks!

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erintagle

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Dallas, Texas, USA

Living In: Alice, Texas, USA

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Reviewed: Jul. 9, 2009

Wonderful recipe. Everyone at work loved it. I did cook it 40 minutes instead of 25. It passed the toothpick test at 25 minutes but the top still seemed wet.

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GINGERONI

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Reviewed: Jul. 9, 2009

Yum! Everyone in my family loved these! I used dried cherries because we like those better. I will make it again. Thanks for a great recipe!

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geranium

Cooking Level: Beginning

Home Town: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

Living In: Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, USA

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Reviewed: Jul. 8, 2009

These were not "bars" at all. The 3 eggs made this very dense and cakey. I was expecting more of a cheesecake flavor, but the cream cheese is hardly noticeable. The texture was heavy and thick. They also took 45 minutes to cook and was still a little raw in the middle when I removed it from the oven. I was disappointed and ended up throwing most of it away.

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Amanda P.

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Memphis, Tennessee, USA

Living In: Mountain Home, Arkansas, USA

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Reviewed: Jul. 8, 2009

I was very disappointed in this recipe, the bars when warm are greasy and didn't have a cream cheese flavor. I was thought is was going to be more like a cheesecake. Won't make again...

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SWISSMISS47

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Reviewed: Jul. 7, 2009

These were great! I made mine without the optional cherries. These will be a regular at my house. Thanks for the great recipe.

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Amanda

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Jul. 6, 2009

These bake up so nice! Really yummy! I left the nuts out altogether and made an 8x8 pan with just chocolate chips (for the kids) and another 8x8 pan with chocolate chips and dried cherries. Both were good but the dried cherries really took these bars to the next level. I went a little light on the dried cherries because I wasn't sure how it would taste.. next time I will definitely add more..YUM! Brought these to two different houses of people and everyone loved them!

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cookinmama

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Puyallup, Washington, USA

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Reviewed: Jul. 6, 2009

LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT! I made this recipe EXACTLY as written (but didn't add the optional walnuts & cherries due to picky eaters) and it was AWESOME!!! Everyone at the bbq I went to this weekend devoured the bars; no one ate just one. If I could describe them I would say they are what you would have if blonde brownies & a cheesecake had babies - VERY GOOD & many people asked for the recipe. THANK YOU for sharing Cookinbug!!!

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ADZELL

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

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Reviewed: Jul. 5, 2009

Very good! I agree that there is too many chocolate chips. I would probably scale it down to 1 cup. I will make these again.

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Crystal's Recipes

Cooking Level: Beginning

Home Town: Bryant, Arkansas, USA

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Reviewed: Jul. 4, 2009

These are very tasty bars! The texture is very good, but I felt that there might have been to many chocolate chips. I used dried cherries instead of maraschino, because my family doesn't care for those. I loved the crunch that the nuts gave the bars. Thanks for sharing your recipe, CookingBug!

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larkspur

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

Living In: Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, USA

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Reviewed: Jul. 2, 2009

I followed the recipe exactly. And sent it to work with my husband. They liked it, but said things like, "there are cherries in this but you can not taste them." The same was said about the chocolate chips and nuts. Next time I will add more cherries, nuts, and chocolate chips. This also took longer than 25 mintues to bake and my oven is very accurate. I would make it again with some changes. I will add a chocolate drizzle on the top.

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Patricia sheldon

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Jul. 2, 2009

I made these last night with the cherries and they turned out delicious! They are very moist and decadent, my husband loved them!

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Jennifer

Cooking Level: Beginning

Home Town: Fort Myers, Florida, USA

Living In: Thomasville, Georgia, USA

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Reviewed: Jul. 2, 2009

These were absolutely delicious! I did have to bake theme longer than what is suggested in the recipe; but then again i used an 8x11 pan instead of the 9x13, so they were taller squares and made the removal from the pan a little difficult (they're very tender). I will try the mini muffin pan next time. I used a mixture of semi sweet and milk chocolate chunks. Thanks for the great recipe!

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Isa

Living In: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

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Reviewed: Jul. 1, 2009

These are by far the best bars I have ever tasted! I did have to keep them in the oven for 40 minutes altogether. I used 1 cup choc. chips and 1 cup white choc. chips. Put in walnuts excluded cherries.

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Kelly Chase

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Reviewed: Jul. 1, 2009

Excellent, excellent. These are very buttery-tasting, soft shortbread-y bars - totally addictive. I'm not a maraschino fan, but liked the idea of cherries with the chocolate and nuts, so I used chopped dried cherries in mine - fantastic substitution if you like them. I followed the rest of the recipe exactly. Heavenly! Thanks, Grasshopper! :)

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SunnyByrd

Living In: Seattle, Washington, USA

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Reviewed: Jun. 29, 2009

I followed the recipe exactly leaving out the optional ingredients. They were very tasty and all of them are gone. I baked in muffin pans as well. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because I was expecting a little more cream cheese flavor. Next time I will add a little more cream cheese. This is a keeper! Update---I added about 2oz more cream cheese and they were perfect! 5 stars second time around. Thanks.

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lovecakes

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Jun. 26, 2009

My son, Carlos Jr. helped me make these and of course he got the first one out of oven and said " They were Very Very AWESOME!!!! They were just the right sweetness, very moist. I followed this recipe to the letter except for the bar part. I also used muffin pans. Next time I would like to add extra cherries.MPO:) Thank You Cooking Bug for an excellent recipe!!

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