I am currently visiting family in Tennessee. It is always nice to see family and we are having a blast!. My sister-in-law called me on my drive letting me know that Austin (my nephew) had plans for me. He has been eagerly awaiting my arrival so that I could cook for him. After a day of recovering from driving 780 miles so far on the trip, I ventured into the kitchen (Jeffrey stayed in KC so it was me, the boys, and Nani).

We started off with a batch of salsa so that we could enjoy it while working on other goodies. It has been good power food for us. Austin requested that he help me in the kitchen while I made lemon bars (recipe to come), but then all of the children ran off when riding a dune buggy seemed like more fun then hanging with Aunt Dinah in the kitchen.

It was nice to just spend some time working in the kitchen and knowing that the kids were having fun outside with their uncle and cousins. I had decided earlier that during my visit I wanted to make my mom’s applesauce spice bars (one of my dad’s favorites). They were a scrumptious finale for our dinner. Everyone seemed to enjoy them and they tasted just like mom used to make. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

Mom’s Applesauce Spice Bars

Printer Friendly Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
⅔ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
¼ cup shortening
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup applesauce
1 egg
½ cup raisins

Frosting:
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To make the cake place all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together by hand. Pour into a 9X13 baking dish and bake for 25 minutes.

For the frosting:
When the cake has about 10 minutes left to cook heat the butter in a saucepan until it is browned. Remove from heat. Mix in powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. Beat with a hand mixer until the frosting is smooth and spreadable. Spread on the warm cake working quickly to spread the frosting evenly. (The frosting dries quickly so you need to work fast.)