Applesauce Bars with Caramel Frosting

My daughter, Kim, has a PowerPoint presentation tomorrow for one of her finals at school.  The subject has something to do with Washington and she wanted to bring something to share made with the state fruit, apples (I am assuming to push her grade to the best she could get by feeding the teachers and classroom) LOL.  I am home today and she was both going to school and working today, so I volunteered to bake something and thought up applesauce bars.  She said she doesn't remember ever having them before, but I'm sure at some point I made them.  The one I used to make just had a glaze on top and usually had raisins in them, which I like a lot, but a lot of  younger generations are not into raisins anymore so I left them out of this recipe altogether.  A lot don't care for nuts either, so I just trimmed the edges for decoration mainly and in case some people liked them on the bars..they can eat the edge pieces.  Here is the recipe.  It's supposed to make an 8 x 8 pan, but I doubled it and that's how I have written it.  Mine is in a bar pan..probably would work in an 8 x 13 pan also if you wanted thicker, more like cake consistency.

Turn oven to 350 degrees.

in a larger bowl cream together:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1-1/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs

then add:
2 cups applesauce
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
(optional: 1-1/2 cups raisins)

beat with a mixer until smooth and put in your Pam sprayed pan.  Bake 20 minutes or until center is done.  Allow to cool.

Caramel Frosting:
4 Tablespoons butter
6 Tablespoons milk
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups powdered sugar (confectioners)
1 teaspoon vanilla
melt butter in a larger saucepan on lower heat so it doesn't burn (so you can add sugar later and not dirty another bowl), add milk and brown sugar.  increase heat to medium.  when mixture starts to boil, continue cooking for one minute, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat, cool slightly and beat in powdered sugar and vanilla.  can add additional milk 1/2 Tablespoon at a time to reach desired consistency.  I didn't have to add any.  spread over cooled bars, slice and eat.