Looking for an idea to spice things up? With the cooler weather, you really need something to keep you warm…
I’ve got just the thing for you.
Get your head out of the gutter, we’re talking about baked goods here!
Now these little lovelies have been around for a while. Some may even think them too old school to be cool. Well those people would be utterly wrong.
Inspired by the classic Hermit recipe, these Spicy Molasses Bars will turn eyes and tickle tastebuds.
How you decide to present them is all up to you, as they can be everyday goodies or decadent indulgences with just the switch of a topping.
Let’s get our hands dirty.
The ingredients you’ll need are likely in any baker’s cupboard already.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/3 cup raisins
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 egg white
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
- *Salted Caramel Sauce or Powdered Sugar (Optional)
Unless you’ve been whipping up some gingerbread for Christmas though, you might need to pop out for a jar of this finger-licking stuff…
DIRECTIONS:
Start off by plopping your raisins in bowl and covering them completely in water. Leave them submerged for at five minutes to plump up and rehydrate.
You’ll appreciate this step later when the raisins you bite into in your bar is soft and juicier than your usual little dried specs.
Once they’ve had their little bath, drain the water out and set aside.
Next, preheat your oven to 375 degrees ºF.
Grab two mixing bowls, one medium and one large. In your larger bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
Then in your medium bow, combine the molasses, butter, egg white and vanilla.
*TIP: Keep your molasses from sticking to your measuring cup by spraying it down with a slick baking spray like coconut oil.
Give it a good stir, then add to the dry ingredients until just moistened.
Add your walnuts and raisins and fold together.
You should be smelling some lovely aromas as you divide your batter in half. Shape each half into a 12-inch x 2-inch rectangle and place them two inches apart on an un-greased baking sheet.
They may not look particularly pretty just yet, but they still have some prep time in the oven. Bake them for about 18 minutes or until the edges are lightly brown and springy to the touch.
Let cool for a couple minutes and then transfer to a cutting board. I sliced my on an angle into 1 1/2 – 2-inch pieces. For those who like to take care of their boards to take care of or benefit from using mineral oil is that oiling your wooden cutting boards means that the oil enters small scratches and dents creating less space for harmful bacteria to enter.
Now, let’s dress these babies up for a good time.
A couple options for your consideration. The first is to sift some powdered sugar over the tops, for a sweet touch.
They’re really still quite modest at this point.
The second option is to sauce them up with a salted caramel.
Drizzle over the top of them all or just a single bar.
You can be extra sinful and just combine both!
Delicious, packed with flavor and totally ready for a good time, no matter how you dress it up.
Finger-licking good. I dare you to try and resist.
(I couldn’t resist. Obviously.)
Who really wants to exercise will power around these beauties though?
These look so yummy. Love anything with salted caramel drizzle too. Thanks for sharing.
My pleasure! I’ve now devoured two batches of these in order to “perfect” the recipe. 🙂
These looks so DELISH! I must pin these. YUM!
Hope you get to try them!
They look delicious! And thanks for the tip on the raisins… so good to know!
It’s the little tips that add the extra something, right?