Colonial Spice Bars Recipes

COLONIAL SPICE BARS

Steps:

• Combine bar ingredients and put in a greased 9"x13" glass pan.
• Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched.
• Mix frosting ingredients together- Frost bars while still warm.

SPICY HERMIT BARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
• Place the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the egg, scrape down the bowl, then mix in the molasses.
• Sift together the flour, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing just until combined. Mix in the raisins and crystallized ginger. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured board, form it into a disk with lightly floured hands, and cut it in half. Roll each half into a log 12 inches long and place them 3 inches apart on the prepared sheet pan. Bake for 20 minutes; the logs will still be soft in the center.
• Meanwhile, whisk the confectioners' sugar with 5 to 6 teaspoons rum to make a pourable glaze. While the logs are still warm, drizzle the glaze back and forth across the logs with a teaspoon and sprinkle them with the lemon zest. Allow to cool. Cut each log crosswise into 1 1/2-inch-wide bars.

SPICE BARS WITH RAISINS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10x15 inch jellyroll pan.
• Place the raisins and water into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, and cook for 3 minutes. Drain, and reserve the liquid. Set aside to cool slightly.
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Mix in the egg and vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; stir into the batter alternately with the raisin water. Set aside 1/4 cup of the raisin liquid to use for the frosting. Mix in raisins last. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
• Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is lightly browned. While the cake is baking, stir together the reserved raisin water, maple extract and confectioners' sugar to make a thin glaze. Pour over the cake while still hot. Cool, then cut into squares to serve.

SOFT SPICE BARS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine butter, 1 cup sugar and molasses. Beat in egg until smooth. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and salt; stir into the molasses mixture. , Spread into a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned (do not overbake). Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

APPLESAUCE SPICE BARS

Steps:

• Position oven rack in center; preheat oven to 350°; butter a 13 x 9 inch baking pan, line bottom with parchment paper, butter the paper and dust the inside of the pan with flour; tap out the excess flour and put the pan on a baking sheet.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt together.
• In a saucepan, melt the butter over low heat; add in the brown sugar and stir with a whisk until it is melted and the mixture is smooth, about 1 minute; remove pan from the heat.
• Still working in the saucepan, whisk in the eggs one at a time, mixing until they are blended.
• Add in the applesauce, vanilla, and applejack; whisk until the ingredients are incorporated and the mixture is once again smooth.
• Switch to a rubber spatula and gently stir in the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear, then mix in the apple, raisins and nuts.
• Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
• Bake for 23-25 minutes or until the bars just start to pull away from the sides of the pan and a knife comes out clean.
• Transfer the baking pan to a rack and let cake cool while you make the glaze.
• In a small saucepan, whisk together the cream, sugar, butter, and corn syrup; put pan over medium heat and bring mixture to a boil, whisking frequently.
• Adjust the heat so the glaze simmer, and cook, whisking frequently for 5 minutes; remove pan from heat and stir in vanilla.
• Turn the bars out onto a rack, remove the paper and invert the bars onto another rack, so they are right side up.
• Slide the parchment paper under the rack to serve as a drip catcher.
• Grab a long metal icing spatula and pour the hot glaze over the bars, using the spatula to spread it evenly over the cake.
• Let them cool to room temperature before you cut them.
• Cut into 32 rectangles, each about 2 ¼ x 1 ½ inches.