The Code First coded UI test API project on CodePlex (http://codeduicodefirst.codeplex.com/) includes a project demo that you can download - application and tests. It's designed for building CUIT tests without the dependency on record/playback.
The biggest thing that you need if you're going to work on a code-only basis is a way to avoid the dependency on the autogenerated object map the CUIT recordings create. The Code-First project uses classes mapped to individual page objects to work around this - you'd need to extend the project code to work with desktop applications if I remember correctly.
(I am not affiliated with this project in any way - it's just the only hand-coding resource other than CUITe that I've found, and CUITe hasn't been updated in a while, the last I saw).
