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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 these tonight. They were delicious! How is the texture supposed to be at the end? Is it more like a cake or like a brownie? After 30 minutes the edges were cooked like a very moist cake but the center was mush and I had to put it back in the oven to cook longer.
Hey Kristin,
Thanks so much for trying the recipe. The final texture is meant to be more like a brownie. All ovens can be slightly different so you definitely want to make sure they are baked through before removing from the oven. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I made these yesterday and the flavor is great!! However, they were much more cakey in texture than your bars. I didn’t weigh my flour as I usually do because there weren’t any weight measurements given, so I spooned and leveled the flour. I think next time I might try adding more apple butter to get a denser consistency and also bake them for less time. Overall, great recipe! Thanks!!
Thank you so much Erin! I am really glad these turned out so well for you!! xTieghan
The cooking time was about double of the recipe and the texture was nothing like a blondie – more cake like. There wasn’t much flavor to it aside from the glaze. Everyone in my family gave it a pass and only one did not throw theirs away in the bin.
I am really sorry about that, Annette. Please let me know if there is anything I can help with! Otherwise, I hope you love some other recipes of mine! xTieghan
Made these amazing blondes today and they did not disappoint! Soooo delicious! I did have to bake about an hour, like others have noted, but worth the wait!
Thank you so much Jackie! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Hi…I was wondering if you might be able to help me troubleshoot. My batch turned out more like a cake than brownies!?! Any thoughts?
Hey Lisa,
So sorry you had issues with the texture! Did you adjust anything in the recipe? Let me know how I can help! xTieghan
Killer good !!!
Next time I’m gonna try it with candied walnuts on top instead of apples.
Yum! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
These are wonderful, and the flavor is more of a caramel apple. I agree with the reviewers who commented on the texture. Mine also produced more of a cake like texture, but they’re delicious. I’ll make them again. Thanks for the wonderful fall recipes!
Thank you for trying this Dina! I hope you love all of the fall recipes I share! xTieghan
Just finished making (and eating) this delicious recipe. The flavor was on point, but like others in the comments, mine definitely were more “cake” than “blondie”. I was expecting them to be a bit more chewy bar-like than cake-like. I baked them for exactly 25 minutes. I added some almond extract in the batter and pecans to the apple mixture. HIGHLY recommend doing so. 🙂
Thank you so much Meredith! xTieghan
I normally love all of your recipes, but as others have mentioned, this one also resulted cake-y / dry / bread-y for me too — 🙁 The top was delicious (the glaze especially — yum!), but the bottom part was just the greatest texture or flavor. Not sure what I did wrong — 🙁 Thought I followed the recipe pretty closely.
So amazing! I even made w/ dairy-free butter and they turned out well!
Amazing! Thank you so much Lindsay! xTieghan
As with some of the other comments, my “blondies” turned out more like cakey. From what I’ve read, overmixing can cause more cake like brownies and too much moisture can as well. Any liquid from the cut apples might affect the dough consistency, so next time I will make sure to let those apples reduce their juice for a bit (and not add it). The flavor was still great and the icing is a hit. I will try again, as I love blondies, and apple butter.
Hi Samantha! I am sorry this did not turn out as expected! I hope these turn out better for you the next time! Please let me know if there is anything I can help with! xTieghan
These are to die for! Made them this evening after a friend sent me the recipe, didn’t have apple butter and no means to make it so I settled for stewing apples with brown sugar and water, and then blending them and adding it to the dough, and they actually turned out pretty well ! Served them warm with some fresh whipped cream, perfect for after dinner with a coffee!
Hi Leah! I am really glad these turned out so well for you! Thank you so much for trying them! xTieghan
Good, but definitely cake-y rather than a blondie texture. This also happened with a brownie recipe I used from Half-baked Harvest. I followed both recipes exactly and don’t quite know what is going wrong. Should I use less flour?
Hey AG,
Sorry you are getting different results, I am wondering if your baking powder is fresh? Let me know how I can help! xTieghan
Very tasty! But with other commenters these are definitely cakey and not blondies. I think there’s too much flour in the recipe. I didn’t make any subs and used a kitchen scale to measure everything out. Still yummy though!
Hi Nina! I am glad you still liked these even though the texture was a bit off! Thank you for trying them! xTieghan
these were delicious! definitely agree with others that it was more of an apple cake than a blondie, but I really loved the texture anyway! I tried reducing the quantity of flour as well to get it closer to a blondie texture, by 1/4 cup, but it was still cakey. again, still delicious, warm, and perfect for fall!
Thank you so much Selena!! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan