Cinnamon-Apple Bars with Peanut Butter Glaze...

I was on a mission to bake this morning and it had been a couple weeks since we cracked open the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking book. One of my favorite and frequent snacks is apples with a side of peanut butter for dipping - after browsing through a few recipes, I spotted one that that used the two in a new way.

Filled with fall-ish spices, these Cinnamon-Apple Bars with Peanut Butter Glaze sure made for a sweet way to start off the weekend. We used whole wheat pastry flour, white whole wheat flour and ground rolled oats to make these whole grain bars - but with the spices, butter and rich brown sugar they don't have that mildly bitter "wheat-y" taste to them. Using applesauce in the bars keeps them extremely moist - but since you're not using it to replace the fat in the recipe, they don't have a rubbery texture to them. While they are soft and dense, they are not cake-like - but they also don't have that chewy quality like a bar cookie would; it is somewhere in between those two if that makes any sense! You could use chocolate chips if you prefer, but we quite liked the engaging burst the melted pockets of cinnamon chips added. Spread on top is a generous thick glaze made simply from peanut butter melted in the microwave with sticky honey. The two spread easily when warm, but the mixture does start to firm up after a few minutes... so don't dwadle when your frosting the bars.

Recipes
Cinnamon-Apple Bars with Peanut Butter Glaze