Apple Butter Swirled Gingerbread Bars

Each year, OXO donates $100 to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer for each blogger post up to their $100,000 commitment. This year, OXO asked us to use a recipe from Dorie Greenspan’s newest cookbook, Dorie’s Cookies while using some of OXO’s great baking tools. Dorie’s Cookies includes over 200 recipes from classics to brownies to savory cookies, with some great baking tips thrown in.

 

I decided to make a recipe in the cookbook named Mary’s Maine Bars, named after a recipe developed by Dorie’s recipe tester (Mary Dodd) after a family trip to Maine. The bars are a delicious, chewy gingerbread that is perfect for the fall. One of the alternative to the recipe suggested swirling apple butter into the batter, so I tried it out!

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups (204 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1½ cups (204 grams) whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• ¾ teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cup (200 grams) sugar
• ¾ cup (180 ml) unsulfured molasses
• ½ cup (120 ml) flavorless oil, such as canola
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• ¼ cup (60 ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1/4 apple butter, spiced
• Sanding or granulated sugar, for sprinkling

Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees F. Generously butter a 9-x-13-inch baking pan or coat it with baking spray. (Note: I used OXO’s Glass 3 Qt Baking Dish with Lid.The baking dish is made from BPA-free borosilicate glass and can withstand extreme temperature changes.)

Line it with a piece of parchment paper.

Whisk both flours, the baking soda, salt and spices together.

Working with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the sugar, molasses, oil and egg together until smooth. (I used OXO’s Illuminating Digital Hand Mixer. The hand mixer emits a light to better see what you’re mixing and includes digital controls to steadily increase or decrease speed.)

Add half of the dry ingredients and pulse the mixer to start blending them in, then beat on low speed only until the flour disappears into the dough.

Pour in the buttermilk and mix to combine.

Add the remainder of the dry ingredients and, still working on low, beat until incorporated.

You’ll have a smooth, heavy, sticky dough.

Scrape the dough into the pan, using a knife or offset spatula to get it into the corners and to even the top as best you can. (I used OXO’s Brownie Spatula and it worked really well.)

Dot with spoonfuls of apple butter and use a blunt table knife to swirl it into the dough to create a nicely marbled surface.

Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 26 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan after 15 minutes, or until the top is dry and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Transfer the pan to a rack. After 10 minutes, run a blunt table knife around the edges of the pan, invert the Maine bars onto a rack, peel away the paper, turn it over onto another rack and let cool.

When you’re ready, cut it into 20 bars (about 1¾ x 3¼ inches) using OXO’s Brownie Spatula.

The brownie spatula was really great at cutting through the bars crumble-free. Its sharp edges cleanly cut through the chewy bars without causing a crumbly mess. The blade also flexes to get under the bars but stays rigid for lifting and serving.

To store, wrap the bars well, and they will be fine at room temperature for at least 4 days; wrapped airtight, they can be frozen for up to 2 months. I added mine to OXO’s Glass 2 Qt Baking Dish with Lid and separated each layer with wax paper.

These bars are the perfect fall dessert. They are chewy, wonderfully spiced, and not too sweet.

The apple butter swirled throughout adds a slight tanginess to the bars, so tasty!

OXO’s Illuminating Digital Hand Mixer was so intuitive to use and stood up to the thick batter in this recipe. I really liked it’s simple storage option: it comes with an on-board beater clip to lock the beaters in place and the corn can be wrapped and secured around the base for compact, upright storage.

Print

Yum

Apple Butter Swirled Gingerbread Bars

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 20 bars

Ingredients

• 1½ cups (204 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1½ cups (204 grams) whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• ¾ teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cup (200 grams) sugar
• ¾ cup (180 ml) unsulfured molasses
• ½ cup (120 ml) flavorless oil, such as canola
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• ¼ cup (60 ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1/4 apple butter, spiced
• Sanding or granulated sugar, for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees F. Generously butter a 9-x-13-inch baking pan or coat it with baking spray.
2. Line it with a piece of parchment paper.
3. Whisk both flours, the baking soda, salt and spices together.
4. Working with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the sugar, molasses, oil and egg together until smooth.
5. Add half of the dry ingredients and pulse the mixer to start blending them in, then beat on low speed only until the flour disappears into the dough.
6. Pour in the buttermilk and mix to combine.
7. Add the remainder of the dry ingredients and, still working on low, beat until incorporated.
8. You’ll have a smooth, heavy, sticky dough.
9. Scrape the dough into the pan, using a knife or offset spatula to get it into the corners and to even the top as best you can.
10. Dot with spoonfuls of apple butter and use a blunt table knife to swirl it into the dough to create a nicely marbled surface.
11. Sprinkle with sugar.
12. Bake for 26 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan after 15 minutes, or until the top is dry and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
13. Transfer the pan to a rack. After 10 minutes, run a blunt table knife around the edges of the pan, invert the Maine bars onto a rack, peel away the paper, turn it over onto another rack and let cool.
14. When completely cool, cut into 20 bars (about 1¾ x 3¼ inches).

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