Next Post
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
If there was ever a recipe that screams fall, it’s these soft and gooey Brown Butter Apple Blondies with Cinnamon Maple Glaze. Made with nutty browned butter, salted apple butter, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Then generously glazed with a sweet, thick, and creamy cinnamon maple glaze. There’s really nothing not to love about these autumn spiced apple blondies. The true secret? Brown butter and sweet apple butter. They keep these blondies incredibly flavorful, soft, gooey, and so delicious. The added bonus is that these bars require almost no effort to make. They’re sweet, salty, heavy on the apple butter, extra cinnamony, and every last bite is truly delicious.
We’re going on a three-week roll of Friday apple desserts and I’m not seeing an end in the near future. Well, ok. I’ll probably switch it up next Friday, but my point is that I have so many fall apple recipes written on my “to make” list. I plan to make as many as I can.
I was worried you guys would be sick of apples, but after a quick poll on Instagram earlier this week, you all assured me that the more apple recipes the better. YES. I am so with you guys. I think I said this last week, but September is apple month, save the pumpkins for October and November, you know?
These blondies are easy. Here are the steps.
These are not your average blondie. They are so much better.
For starters, there’s browned butter, apple butter, and fresh apples too. So much apple happening, and it’s SO GOOD!
Second, these are truly the easiest to make, they don’t even require a mixer, just a bowl and skillet. We all have those.
Start out by browning salted butter on the stove. Browning the butter really adds a rich nutty flavor to these bars and makes them just a touch cozier. Perfect as we slowly head into the cooler days of autumn. Once the butter is browned, remove it from the stove, and dump in all the remaining ingredients.
You’ll first add the apple butter, eggs, vanilla, flour, and spices (lots of cinnamon). This makes up the dough. Simple. Simple. But trust me, it’s going to be good.
Spread the dough out into a pan. Now, take the chopped apples and toss them with brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle the apples over the dough, then bake. As the bars bake away, you’ll have incredible wafts of cinnamon, sweet apples, and butter in the air. It’s the coziest.
The key to these bars?
The key lies within the browned butter and the butter.
Butter keeps the bars rich and flavorful, but the apple butter adds a concentrated sweet apple flavor while also adding moisture. Combined together they make the best blondie bar.
For the apple butter, I used my homemade apple butter, but of course, you can use a store-bought apple butter too. That said, if you’ve never made homemade apple butter, this is the fall to do so. This sounds dramatic, but if you LOVE apples and jammy type spreads, then this apple butter will be life-changing. It’s my favorite to use in both sweet and savory autumn recipes.
While the bars cool, make the glaze.
Most blondie recipes are not glazed, but I wanted these to be extra special and a little over the top.
I took inspiration from my Cinnamon Spiced Sugar Cookies and my Apple Scones, and decided on a buttery maple glazed with cinnamon throughout. It’s just some browned butter, maple, powdered sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Simple, but delicious.
I keep mine drizzly but still thick and creamy. That way it can really sink into all the nooks and crannies throughout these buttery blondie bars.
Buttery, apple filled, flavored with hints of cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla, and topped with delicious and perfectly sweet maple glaze. Not much beats that, it’s autumn in a bar. Enjoy alongside a mug of steaming hot coffee, cider…or maybe even your favorite pumpkin spiced latte?!?
Total and complete perfection. Also…if you bake these up this weekend, your house is going to smell like fall, and trust me, it’s going to be amazing. Better than a fall candle. SO GOOD!
Looking for other sweet apple recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Spiced Pecan Apple Cider Doughnut Cake
Mulled Spiced Apple Cider Doughnuts
Double the Streusel Apple Butter Bars
Homemade Slow Cooker Maple Apple Butter
Lastly, if you make these Brown Butter Apple Blondies with Cinnamon Maple Glaze, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Brown Butter Apple Blondies with Cinnamon Maple Glaze
Servings: 24 bars
Calories Per Serving: 218 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) salted butter
- 1/2 cup apple butter
- 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 Honeycrisp apples, peeled (if desired), and chopped (about 2 cups chopped apples)
Cinnamon Maple Butter Glaze
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 pinch flaky sea salt
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13 inch baking dish with parchment paper.2. Add the butter to a medium pot set over medium heat. Allow the butter to brown, until it smells toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Stir often. Remove from the heat and stir in the apple butter and 1 cup brown sugar. Let cool 5 minutes. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, mixing until just combined. Spread the dough out into the prepared dish. 3. In a bowl, toss the apples with 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Evenly sprinkle the apples over the dough. Transfer to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, just until set in the center. If there is liquid in the center, swirl it around the pan, then bake another 5 minutes. Let cool. 4. Meanwhile, make the glaze. Add the butter to a small pot set over medium heat. Allow the butter to brown lightly until it smells toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the maple syrup, powdered sugar, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Drizzle the glaze over the bars. Let set for 5 minutes. Cut into bars…snack and enjoy!
Notes
To Make Gluten Free: Use an equal amount of your favorite gluten free flour blend in place of the all-purpose flour. I recommend Cup4Cup gluten free flour.
Storing: these bars keep well for 3-4 days at room temperature or in the fridge.
To cool the bars quickly for frosting: place in freezer for 15 minutes. Remove and glaze.
This post was originally published on September 18, 2020
I made a few mistakes. I read the directions wrong and added 2 and a half cups of brown sugar to the batter instead of reserving the last half cup for the apples. And my blondies took FOREVER to cook. Like a full hour-ish total cook time. I used a 10 x 10 inch ceramic dish, though. I need to invest in a good tin baking dish, I think. Any other suggestions or trouble shooting tips? They still came out really good and I paired with iced coffee. 🙂
These are great to make and so delicious! Thank you!
Thank you so much Liz! xTieghan
this came out great! i accidentally overbaked it slightly and it was stll so soft an delcious – i think we ate half in one go! will definitely make it again!
thank you for a fantastic recipe
Thank you so much Yasmin! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Would Granny Smith apples work?
Hey Chelsea,
Yes those would work! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I woke up this morning wanting to bake but the chocolate merengue cake I had planned just wasn’t going to cut it. Then, I saw this recipe in my inbox and got so excited. My house smells like fall and these are incredible! I accidentally added all of the cinnamon to the blondie mix before realizing I was supposed to save some for the apples and it was a very happy accident! I highly recommend adding the extra cinnamon when you make these again!
The only thing I would say is that these needed way longer than 25 minutes. I had to rebake them after putting the glaze and cutting into them because That had to be eaten with a spoon, they were so gooey!
Hi Christy! I am really glad these turned out well for you! If you have any questions, I would love to help1 Thank you for trying them! xTieghan
Saw these this morning and couldn’t help but make them right away. They are AMAZING! If I could give them more than 5 stars I would. Will definitely be making these again this fall!
Thank you so much Caitlin!! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I just made these and they are crazy good. Browning the butter made them richer and so tasty. (I had to taste one before dinner tonight!) I left the peels on the apples and they baked up soft with just a bit of texture. Next time I am adding nuts! The glaze was just on the edge of too sweet but that’s me. Amazing as always.
Love to hear that, Laurel! Thank you for trying this one! xTieghan
Could this work with almond flour to make them gluten-free?
Thank you for all the hard work you out into your recipes! Every one I’ve tried has been amazing!
Hey Jeannine,
I would recommend using an equal amount of gluten free flour. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I now know what to do with the jar of apple butter that’s been in my pantry! These look fabulous
Thank you so much Janet! I hope you love this recipe!! xTieghan
These look delicious! Can’t wait to bake them for my family!
Thank you for including “cup” measurement for butter. In Canaada, our butter is not usually packaged in sticks so I would always have to do a little math before measuring.
I am happy that helped! I hope you love this recipe Joanne! Thank you for trying it! xTieghan
Whenever I receive your recipes, I just right to the recipe for ingredients….I know 100% that the recipe will be delicious! I do go back and read before making….HA!
Aw I am really glad this turned out so well for you! Thank you! xTieghan
These look delicious. YES! This is apple season. I am not into pumpkin recipes until late October and November. I guess one reason is we have an Apple Festival about 30 minutes from us and apple orchards as well. This year the festival is cancelled of course. Also, when I worked at school everything was apple related in Sept. for kindergarteners. In fact, today they are making mini apple pies in our great granddaughters class.
I completely get not being into pumpkin until later in the season! Apples are the best right now! Aw that is so cute they are making mini apple pies! Love that! xTieghan
These look incredible!!! Definitely making them this Sunday!!! ❤️?
Love that! Thank you so much Lauren! xTieghan
omg these look sinful!!!
I am really glad you like these, Ruth!! Thank you! xTieghan
Hello! This looks amazing! I really want to try this! Can you please share your best homemade apple butter recipe but on the stove? I don’t have a slow cooker. Actually they don’t even sell them in my country.
Hey Nicolette,
Here is the recipe for the apple butter:https://fett-weg.today/homemade-slow-cooker-maple-apple-butter/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan