Carrot Cake Brownie Bars and a GIVEAWAY!

Spring has sprung! Let’s all celebrate with cake and even better, a GIVEAWAY! My dear friends and past roomies from Camp Blogaway and I have gotten together for a carrot cake throwdown and giveaway for a $50 gift card to either Target or Amazon – winner’s choice!

Carrot cake is synonymous with spring and reminiscent of Easter and we thought it would be a perfect way to celebrate the season. Surprisingly, we all came up with very different recipes under the title of “carrot cake” and they all look delicious. I’m amazed by these ladies and their creativity. They always inspire me!

When we decided on carrot cake, I immediately knew I was going to share my carrot cake brownie bars. I’ve made these for bake sales in the past and they’ve been really popular. They are moist but still slightly cakey in texture because I’ve replaced a lot of the oil with applesauce. Packed full of sweet carrots and raisins, they are lower in sugar than most other baked goods. The cream cheese swirl on the top adds that extra bit of creaminess to tie all the flavors together. M loves these so much he eats them for breakfast and with these nutrition stats, I say why not?

Check out the fabulous carrot cake recipes my girls came up with and make sure to enter our giveaway via the rafflecopter widget below!

 BAKERY STYLE CARROT CAKE CHEESECAKE CAKE – FOOD, FOLKS & FUN

PALEO CARROT CAKE – DECADENTLY FIT

RAINBOW CARROT CUPCAKES WITH LEMON PEEL – ALOHA YINZ MANGIA

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Carrot Cake Brownie Bars

www.barbaracooks.com

Servings: 16 • Size: 2/3 cup • Weight Watcher Points+: 5

Calories: 187 • Fat: 5g • Carbs: 33g • Fiber: 3g • Protein: 3g

Sugars: 17g • Sodium: 204mg • Cholesterol: 19mg

Ingredients:

• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 cup light brown sugar, not packed
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 egg + 2 egg whites
• 3 cups shredded carrots
• ½ cup golden raisins
• 2 ½ cups whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• 4 ounces Neufchatel (or light cream cheese)
• 1/8 cup superfine sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9×9 square pan by spraying with oil mister or cooking spray and dusting with flour.

In a large bowl, mix together the olive oil, applesauce, brown sugar, vanilla and 1 egg. Stir in the carrots and raisins. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the dry mix to the wet ingredients and stir just until all flour is incorporated. Spread mixture evenly in pan. It will be very thick.

In a small bowl, beat together the Neufchatel, superfine sugar and 2 egg whites until smooth. Spread the mixture in three rows on top of the uncooked brownies with a spoon. Using a knife, cut through the cream cheese mixture crosswise to create a swirled effect.

Bake 30-35 minutes. Let cool 10-15 minutes before cutting into 16 squares.