Soft Spice Bars are a Perfect Fall Treat

It's always fun to have someone ask for a recipe isn't it?  I am especially inspired by these requests lately as I have ideas for two cookbooks that I'd love to write and publish.  Well, honestly, not write, but certainly publish.  I've often wished that I had a ticker-tape feature in my head such that all those great letters, emails, thank you notes, blogs and such would just be spit out in written form without my having to type a single thing.  Perhaps someday as I hear there are programs getting very close to that kind of technology.  But back to the recipe at hand, Soft Spice Bars.

I discovered the original recipe in the Taste of Home Cookbook in 2000 and have found it to be a surefire treat in the fall.  (I have tweaked it to fill a half-sheet baking pan.) In fact, I incorporated it into our menu for the Honduran Women's Bible Conference with great success.  It has just the right amount of spice and really does stay soft, but is not gooey.  We served it this weekend at a church event promoting the conference and once again were asked, "Can I have the recipe?" 

Cream together
1 1/2 C melted butter
2 C sugar
1/2 C molasses, I prefer Grandma's brand

Beat in 2 eggs

Mix in:
4 C flour
4 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. salt

Spread this into a greased half-sheet baking pan or jelly roll pan.  Sprinkle with 4 T sugar.  Bake at 350 degrees F for about 25 minutes.  Do not over bake.  Cool before cutting.

Yield:  In Honduras I cut this into 24 bars (cut 4 by 6).  You can also get 32 nice sized portions (cutting 4 by 8) or 48 mini-bars cutting 6 by 8.  These are not inches, but the number of cuts made into the pan.  I try to avoid odd numbers, but even the 6 rows can lead to some unevenness unless you use a ruler and run your knife along the ruler's edge as with a rotary cutter in crafting.