Saturday, January 9, 2016

Recipe: My Spicy Applesauce-Molasses Bars Are Easy and Make an Ideal Lower-Calorie Treat!


Different view of a Spicy Applesauce-Molasses Bar.jpeg
My Spicy Applesauce-Molasses Bar is great when you want something yummy in a hurry that is not overly rich.


Trying to watch your weight and still enjoy sweets is possible with this easy treat that I want to share with you. This recipe will make only enough of these delicious bars to enjoy without overproducing to later tempt you, but they do keep well if you have any left the next day.  

My Spicy Applesauce-Molasses Bars are in between a dense snack cake and a bar cookie with just enough molasses and zingy spices to make the taste memorable, especially once topped sparingly with a butter cream frosting. 

My recipe only uses one-fourth cup of oil.  Instead, the applesauce serves to replace some of that oil’s missing moistening power that normally would have been necessary for baking.  If you don’t have any applesauce on hand, you can peel and cook a few apples (two medium ones) and make your own.

I hope that the next time you get the urge for something sweet and feel like baking that you will print out my recipe.  I do think that you will like it.




My Spicy Applesauce-Molasses Bars

A Spicy Applesauce-Molasses Bar.jpeg
A Spicy Applesauce-Molasses Bar

1 cup of unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup of molasses (light or dark)
1/4 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of baking soda, leveled
1/4 cup of canola oil
1-1/2 cups of flour
1-3/4 teaspoons of ground ginger
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon of salt
2 large eggs





Heat the applesauce over low heat, stirring until it boils.  You can also cook up your own apples to measure out one cup.

Remove the cooked applesauce off the heat before adding the molasses and baking soda, which you have leveled.  Let cool.

You will need a mixing bowl and your electric mixer.

Add the eggs and sugar to the bowl next.  Beat those two ingredients together first before slowly adding your oil, a little at a time.

Now add some of your sifted flour, spices and the salt and beat through a little at time, alternating with the cooled applesauce mixture, until all the ingredients are combined.

Grease a small baking pan about 10-1/2" x 6-1/2" and pour in.  You could use an 8" square size, but I prefer a thinner height.  You get more bars so you can eat less at one time is my strategy.

Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 30 minutes, depending on how your oven is regulated.  Test with a toothpick or slender knife to see if it is done.

Top sparingly with your favorite white butter cream frosting once these bars thoroughly cool.

ENJOY!