Long ago I mentioned that my sister had come home for spring break and we had tried a serious number of recipes. Well, my sister went back to school, finished her semester, is now back at home, and I am just now getting around to sharing those recipes. Better late than never I suppose!

One of the recipes that we tried out was an Applesauce Spice Bar recipe, originally done by Dorie Greenspan.  Laura, my sister, and I had no idea what to expect really. We just looked at it and knew that it sounded good. Sadly, I cannot locate the original recipe to share the changes that we made.  Luckily though, Laura did write down our version of the recipe so I still have something to share. 

Ingredients for the bars:

• 1 1/4 c. of whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. of baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. of baking soda
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. of ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp. of salt
• 1 stick of unsalted butter
• 1 c. of brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 c. of unsweetened applesauce
• 1 apple (diced)
• 1/2 c. of golden raisins
• 1/2 c. of chopped walnuts

Ingredients for the glaze:

• 2 1/2 tbsp. of soy milk
• 1/2 c. of brown sugar
• 2 1/2 tbsp. of unsalted butter
• 1 tsp. of dark corn syrup
• 1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract

Putting it alllllll together…

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F; crisco 9 x 13 glass pan, and then dust the pan with flour
2. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and allspice, and salt together in a bowl.
3. In medium saucepan, melt butter on low heat. Add brown sugar and stir until mixed and melted. This should take around 1 minute. When that is finished, remove from heat.
4. From this point on, pretty much everything goes into the saucepan. First, add the eggs in one at a time, mixing them. Then, mix in the applesauce and vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients. Mix in the diced apples, golden raisins, and walnuts.
5. Pour the batter into the pan. Spread out so it is even. Then bake for 23-25 minutes.
6. The glaze can be done really quickly, and can be done after the pan is taken out of the oven to cool.  To start the glaze off, get a small saucepan and whisk together the soymilk, sugar, butter, and corn syrup.  Have the heat be on medium, and bring the glaze to a boil, whisking frequently during this time.
7. Once the glaze has come to a boil, turn down the heat a little but still let it simmer. Keep the glaze simmering for about 5 minutes. Again, you will need to stir the glaze this entire time.
8. Then remove from heat and add in the vanilla.
9. The final step: pour the glaze over the cooled cake.

And the results…

It is a shame I posted them so late because at the time they were made, it was the perfect time of the year for them. Still cool out, but certainly more of an autumn/winter dessert. Incredibly delicious with a cup of tea or coffee.