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1
Preheat the oven to 350u00b0F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish (I use glass) and set aside.
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2
For the apple filling:
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3
In a saucepan stir together the apples, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon and corn starch. Place the pan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples have softened and the filling has thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
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4
For the bars:
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5
In another small saucepan, brown the butter by heating the butter over medium heat, whisking constantly once it's melted. It will melt, then get frothy, then clear up and get brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Once you see the brown bits, remove it from the heat, continuing to whisk it for another minute or so. Pour the brown butter, making sure to get all the browned bits on the bottom, into a large bowl.
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6
Add the sugar and the molasses to the brown butter and whisk together until smooth. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla. Add the flour, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves and stir until just combined. Pour half of the batter into the prepared baking dish and spread it around evenly. The batter will be very sticky.
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7
Spread the prepared apple filling over top of the batter in the pan, trying to get it right to the edges. Spread the remaining bar batter over top of the apples. Again, it's very sticky so is a little tough to spread. When adding the batter on top of the apples, try to drizzle it all over rather than dumping it all in the middle so it's easier to spread evenly.
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8
Bake for 40-45 minutes until the bars are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only damp crumbs on it, but no wet batter. Don't over-bake them. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool slightly.
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9
For the glaze:
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10
While the bars cool a bit, make the glaze. Brown the butter, the same way you did with the bar batter. Once it's browned, remove it from the heat and whisk in the vanilla and powdered sugar. Add 1-2 tablespoons of water to thin the glaze and whisk until smooth. Spread the glaze over the warm bars and allow them to cool completely.
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11
Slice the bars into squares and serve. They keep well for up to 5 days in an airtight container, or can be frozen for 3 months.
