Molasses Raisin Spice Bars

These molasses bars are a nice change from typical bars and squares. Instead of being quite sweet, often chocolatey, with many layers and fun additions, these bars are more like a spice cake. They are soft, moist, spicy, and not too sweet, with just a hint of coffee flavor. They are also very quick and easy to make. Although the icing makes the squares a bit fancier and more decadent, this step may be skipped. The squares would probably be pretty good without the icing, they would be slightly less sweet and probably neater and easier to store. The recipe came from Company's Coming "150 Delicious Squares" cookbook, but I tweaked it a bit. I added raisins even though they were not called for in the original recipe. Adding some chopped walnuts would make a nice addition as well. Also the original recipe called for the use of orange juice in the icing instead of additional coffee. I used coffee simply because I didn't have any orange juice, and I have used coffee in icings before and found it works very well. The coffee in this icing pairs well with the coffee in the squares, and I don't know if the extra flavor addition of orange would have been as good. 

Molasses Raisin Spice Bars
BARS
1/2 cup butter or hard margarine
1/2 cup granulated (white) sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/4 cups all-purpose (plain) flour (save a little for coating the raisins)
1/2 cup hot coffee
1/2 - 1 cup raisins, optional (toss them with a bit of the flour to prevent them from sinking in the batter)
ICING
3 Tablespoons butter or hard margarine, melted
1 1/2 cups icing (confectioner's) sugar
5 teaspoons cold coffee

BARS: Preheat oven to 350◦F. Grease or line an 8x8 inch or 9x9 inch square pan.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg and molasses. Stir in the baking soda, salt, spices, and half of the flour. Mix in half of the coffee, followed by the remaining flour and then the remaining coffee along with the raisins, if using. Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the batter comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
ICING: Beat all ingredients together until smooth, adding more icing sugar or coffee as necessary to achieve a desired consistency. Spread over cooled bars. Refrigerate before cutting.

Paré, Jean. "Molasses Bars." Recipe. 150 Delicious Squares, Edmonton Alberta: Company's Coming Publishing Limited, 1981. 91.