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Dessert

Apple Bran Bars

A baked bar made with apples, bran flakes, molasses, and a cream cheese frosting.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and apple are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,104 recipes. Both carry 4-heptenal, which smells creamy, biscuit. The science ↓

Apple Bran Bars

24 bars
Oven350°F
Time25 to 30 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the frosting

  1. Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth.

  2. Add orange peel and vanilla, and beat until combined.

  3. Beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth.

Prepare

  1. Heat oven to 350°F.

  2. Grease a 15‑by‑10‑inch jelly roll pan.

Make the batter

  1. Beat shortening and sugar until light in texture, about 3 minutes.

  2. Add egg and beat well.

  3. Add molasses and milk, beating until well combined.

  4. Combine flour, bran, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.

  5. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, beating on low speed just until combined.

  6. Spread batter in prepared pan.

Bake and serve

  1. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.

  2. Cool in pan.

  3. Spread cooled bars with cream cheese frosting.

  4. Cut into 24 bars and serve.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1231Calories
30 gProtein
52 gFat
162 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Vegetable1 tbsp (14g)120
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Cream Cheese1 oz (28g)99
Apple1 medium (182g)95
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Molasses1 tbsp (20g)58
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Walnut1 walnut half (4g)26
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Milk + appletop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,104 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).

  2. Walnut + cream cheesetop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together439 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

  3. Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,225 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  4. Flour + walnuttop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,873 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Milk + cream cheesetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,393 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Vegetable shortening
Adds fat that keeps the bars tender and helps trap air when beaten with sugar.
Egg
Binds the batter and adds structure and moisture as it sets in the oven.
All-purpose flour
Provides the main structure that holds the bars together as they bake.
Molasses
Adds moisture, sweetness, and a deeper color and flavor to the bars.
Baking soda
Reacts with the molasses to produce gas that helps the bars rise.
Golden delicious apples
Adds moisture and fruity sweetness, keeping the bars soft as they bake.

The step that matters

Beating the dry mixture into the wet mixture. Mixing on low speed only until combined prevents overdeveloping the flour's gluten, which would make the bars tough and dense instead of tender.

Swap the apple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, molasses, milk, flour, walnut, cream cheese):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Raisinfits better
  3. Figfits better
  4. Applethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, molasses, milk, flour, walnut, cream cheese. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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