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.