Recipe #8

I'm going back in time quite a bit to play catch up on all the recipes I've tried, and this book is one that I have found a few new recipes from.



I really liked flipping through this book, the author did quite a bit of research into the foods we eat, and the goal was to provide alternatives to all the sugary foods we (I) feed our (my) children. I was a little worried the food would be bland, but here goes:


Spiced Apple Bars
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup apple juice
3 eggs
1/4 cup margarine
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsp low-sodium baking powder*
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup raisins**

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Coat an 8x8 pan with vegetable cooking spray.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat together the applesauce, apple juice, eggs, and margarine until well blended. Add the flours, baking soda, baking powder, and spices. Beat for 2 minutes at medium speed. Stir in raisins.
3. Bake 25-30 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.


I was concerned about this being a little bland. And, it kind of was. But my kids didn't notice. At all. I ate some of this, and I added a few drops of honey - which made it perfect, for me. My kids just gobbled and gobbled and gobbled it up! This is a definite keeper, and a much better alternative to the snacks that I normally feed the kids.

*The author notes that low-sodium baking powder (which I could not find at our local grocery store) is used at 1-1/2 times the amount of regular baking powder. So if you use the regular baking powder use 2 tsp, instead of the 3 tsp low-sodium.
**These provide quite a bit of sweetness to the recipe - if it isn't sweet enough for you, you could always add more raisins.