Set a medium coarse strainer over a large bowl. Pour the contents of two cans of Oregon Fruit Red Tart Cherries into the strainer and the let cherries drain for about 5 minutes.

Pour the Red Tart Cherries into a 2 or 3-quart saucepan. Add the sugar, cornstarch, kosher salt, and lemon juice. Stir the mixture together until the cornstarch is dissolved. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes. At the end of 5 minutes there should be liquid in the saucepan.

Place the pan over medium high heat and bring the cherry mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and cook for another minute, stirring constantly. The cherry filling should be noticeably thicker and have a clear glossy shiny appearance. Remove the cherries from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

Set the cherry filling aside (leave it in the saucepan) and make the cherry pie bar crust.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt the butter over low heat. This step will take a few minutes but melting the butter on low heat will reduce evaporation. While the butter is melting, place the flour, sugar, kosher salt, and baking powder in a large bowl and whisk together for 30 seconds.

Pour the hot melted butter into the flour mixture. Use a spatula to combine the butter with the dry ingredients until there are no white bits of the flour mixture left. You should have about 655 grams of crust. Measure 225 grams (or about 1 cup) into a separate bowl. Add the shredded the coconut to the reserved topping and toss the ingredients together.

Press the remaining crust into the prepared pan until it appears even thickness across the bottom of the pan.

Bake the crust for 21-23 minutes or until the edges of the crust are golden brown.

Bake the cherry pie bars for 20-22 minutes until the filling is bubbly along the edges of the pan and the topping is a light golden brown. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool. Run an offset spatula or butter knife along the edges of the pan to loosen the crust from the parchment paper.

Let the red tart cherry pie bars cool to room temperature, then store them in a refrigerator. It will be easier to lift the bars from the pan and cut them when they are cold.

Use the parchment paper sling to lift the bars from the pan. Cut the bars into sixteen (16) 2-1/8x2-1/8 -inch squares or into nine (9) 3x3-inch squares.

The bars are best when eaten within the first two days.

The bars can sit at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days or be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up 10 days.