It appears that summer may be skipping the pacific northwest this year.  I think our average high has been about 70.  This is not a complaint, on the contrary, I’m super happy about it, I’m just telling it like it is.  Hopefully it will mean lots and lots of snow for us in the fall and winter.

Since it feels like fall outside, I decided to make a recipe that I had been saving for the fall today.  Today is soup and homemade applesauce weather.  These applesauce bars are to. die. for.  They are so incredibly melt-in-your-mouth-moist.  They are perfectly spiced with the homemade cinnamon applesauce and the pumpkin pie spice.  And we all know there is nothing bad you can say about cream cheese frosting.

I made these bars with my homemade cinnamon applesauce, which probably contributed to the perfection of the recipe, but store bought applesauce would be fine was well. Do I sound like Ina Garten? [“If you can’t find butter infused with the tears of virgin Dutch milk maids, store bought is fine.”]  But seriously.  If you have four apples and twenty minutes, make your own applesauce because it does make a difference.

This recipe makes an 8×8 pan of bars, but they are so good they will go fast, so you might want to double the recipe for a 9×13 inch pan if you’re feeding a crowd.  The recipe made a lot of frosting, I might half it next time.

This is the perfect fall treat, so save it for a month from now!

Enjoy!

Recipe from Inspiration Kitchen

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
• ⅔ cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 cup applesauce [try my homemade cinnamon applesauce]
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 8×8 inch baking pan and line with a parchment paper sling.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together butter, brown sugar and egg until smooth. Stir in applesauce. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice; stir into the applesauce mixture until well blended. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

1. In a small bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Mix in vanilla, then slowly mix in the confectioners’ sugar. Spread over cooled bars before cutting into squares.