Spiced Applesauce Bars - Cozy Country Living

My family went apple picking last weekend, so I have been busy in my kitchen cooking and baking with those fresh, fragrant apples. With a bushel and a half of apples on my counter, my kitchen smells like an apple orchard and I continue to be inspired to bake up more wonderful apple goodness. I wanted to make a little something different yesterday so I turned to my old cookbooks to see if I could find some forgotten old fashioned apple recipe. It had been a while since I looked through those cookbooks, and I was excited to see what I might come across. For the past 10 years I have been collecting older cookbooks from estate sales. It’s like a glimpse into the past and I love reading through recipes that come from a time when making your house a home and cooking for your family was your life. Some of these fantastic cooking books that I treasure date back to the 1930’s! Do you have old cookbooks that inspire you?

In a more recent (1971) Better Homes and Gardens Good Food On A Budget Cookbook , I found a simple recipe for Applesauce Squares. Since we had just made homemade applesauce, I thought this recipe would be perfect and I adapted it a bit and whipped up a batch of these as soon as I could. These Spiced Applesauce Bars have a buttery, old fashioned oat, spiced crust that surrounds thickened homemade cinnamon applesauce. They taste like a rich apple crisp or dutch apple pie, and take much less time to prepare. These bars make a wonderful dessert and can even be topped with good vanilla bean ice cream to make them even more special. The best part- these delicious bars can be frozen! If you have fresh applesauce, don’t hesitate to make a double batch of these and freeze one for later. It makes a lovely dessert for last minute company on the weekends. Enjoy!

Spiced Applesauce Squares

Ingredients

For the Filling:
3 cups homemade cinnamon applesauce (if you have plain applesauce, but add 1 tsp. cinnamon to it)
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 Tbsp. all purpose flour
For the Crust:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
2 cups old fashioned oats + 1/2 cup old fashioned oats (for other half of crust)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon

Instructions

In a medium saucepan, combine the filling ingredients and cook on medium while mixing until it is thick and bubbly.
Turn off heat, and set aside to cool.
Pre heat the oven to 375 degrees.
In your Kitchen Aid Mixer, cream the butter and the brown sugar.
Mix in the 1 cup of flour and the 1/2 tsp. salt, then stir in the 2 cups of oats.
In a 9 x 13 baking dish, press 1/2 of this oat mixture into the bottom of the dish evenly with a wooden or plastic spoon. (It will stick to a metal one)
Pour the cooled applesauce mixture and spread evenly on top of the crust.
Add the other 1/2 cup oats to the remaining oat mixture, along with the nutmeg and cinnamon.
Mix until crumbly.
Gently break up and sprinkle the crumbles on top of the applesauce filling evenly.
Gently press down on top the applesauce.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown on top.
Cool completely, cut and serve.
Serves 8-12.
* If freezing, bake as usual, cool completely, cover and freeze.

https://www.cozycountryliving.com/spiced-applesauce-bars/

*Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Good Food On A Budget Cookbook

Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means that if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I only recommend products or services that I personally use and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

*Linking up at Once A Mom Always A Cook

*Linking up at Best Blog Recipes

*Linking up at The Thriftiness Miss

*Linking up at Serenity Now

*Linking up at Diana Rambles

*Linking up at Simply Gloria

*Linking up at Cheerios and Lattes

*Linking up at Dessert Now, Dinner Later

*Linking up at The Foley Fam

*Linking up at I Should Be Mopping The Floor

*Linking up at Skip To My Lou

*Linking up at Chef In Training