Applesauce Spice Bars (TWD)

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe for Applesauce Spice Bars are technically bar cookies, but as you can see in these photos, mine turned out thick and cake-like.

The reason - I totally misread the pan requirements and used a smaller 8"x8" pan (versus a 9"x13" pan called for in the recipe). Aside from the pan snafu, I did follow the recipe with the following notes (for the full recipe, please visit Something Sweet by Karen):

- increased baking time to 35 minutes
- used a Granny Smith apple
- doubled the amount of cinnamon and allspice
- soaked the dark raisins in rum (it really helped plump and rehydrate them)
- in addition to soaking the raisins in rum, I opted to add 1 tbsp of dark rum into the batter
- doubled the brown sugar glaze recipe. Instead of pouring the hot glaze over the cake, I let the glaze cool. At room temp the glaze was much thicker, and this was spread like frosting over the cake.
I loved how soft and moist this bar turned out, and I'm glad that I added the raisin and pecans, as it gave it some textural interest. I loved the flavors of cinnamon and allspice, and they went wonderfully with the apples.

My only minor issue with this recipe was the sweetness --- it was really too sweet for my personal taste, which I think was contributed by the glaze.

Still, this bar didn't go to waste at my house, as we enjoyed it a la mode with Dorie Greenspan's Vanilla Ice Cream.

There are a lot of things that I liked about this recipe, and I'm definitely going to give it another try with a couple of adjustments (ie. omitting the glaze and using the proper pan).

Thanks Karen of Something Sweet by Karen for a terrific selection this week. Karen is always cooking and baking delicious treats which she shares through her beautiful blog.

I can't believe I'm actually writing this, but next week will be MY turn to host Tuesdays With Dorie. I'm looking forward to baking and visually feasting with all of you!