I'm sorry, but what kind of a food holiday is this? I don't know if I have ever even had a molasses bar. But I like to play nice, so I went ahead scoured the internet for some ways to enjoy this hallowed day. I have to admit, I have become decidedly appetized and quite keen to try a molasses bar, if they're anything like this. Here are five tasty molasses bars I'd like to try:
1. Chewy molasses bars.
These are described as "like brownies, but with molasses". The pictures show a really perfect-looking chewy bar texture, and I think the spices and chocolate chips in this recipe would make a nice, cozy bar cookie that would be great with cocoa on a snow day. Via Jen's Favorite Cookies.
2. Soft and chewy gingerbread molasses bars.
I'm into the chewy--no, downright FUDGY--texture of this fine specimen of molasses bars, as well. The secret to their flavor, says the baker, is using a mild molasses--the blackstrap stuff is simply too pungent. Via Averie Cooks.
3. Peach "newtons".
These aren't a classic molasses bar, I suppose, but they are a bar, and they do contain molasses. And they sound just swell. An oat-wheat-molasses crust contains a sweet peach mixture, making for a crave-worthy way to enjoy National Molasses Bar Day. Recipe and photo (top) via Janet Hudson.
4. Gingerbread white chocolate blondies
They're called blondies, yes, but the molasses in the batter makes me think that they're doing double duty as molasses bars. These ones are speckled with white chocolate chips, which I think would add a great visual contrast as well as a pleasing sweetness to the assertiveness of the molasses. Via Mel's Kitchen Cafe.
5. Molasses cake bars.
These are what I think of when I think of molasses bars: a snack cake type of bar, with a sweet confectioners' sugar-rich icing on top. These look old-fashioned and classic, and I want one. Via Love That Food.