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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.

overhead photo of Brown Butter Apple Blondies with Cinnamon Maple Glaze

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?

overhead prep photo of Brown Butter Apple Blondies before baking

 

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!

overhead close up prep photo of Brown Butter Apple Blondies after baking

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.

side angle photo of Brown Butter Apple Blondies with Cinnamon Maple Glaze

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.

overhead photo of Brown Butter Apple Blondies with Cinnamon Maple Glaze

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.

side angle photo of Brown Butter Apple Blondies with Cinnamon Maple Glaze stacked one on top of the other

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!

overhead close up photo of Brown Butter Apple Blondies with Cinnamon Maple Glaze

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!

@halfbakedharvest

🍎 blondies #brownbutter #apple #blondies #fallrecipes #falldesserts #cinnamon #mapleglaze #cozytreats #foodtokers

♬ This Love (Taylor’s Version) – Taylor Swift

Brown Butter Apple Blondies with Cinnamon Maple Glaze

Author: Tieghan Gerard
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Cooling Time 5 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
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.

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Watch the How-To Reel

Ingredients

Cinnamon Maple Butter Glaze

US Customary – Metric

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.
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overhead photo of Brown Butter Apple Blondies with Cinnamon Maple Glaze
This post was originally published on September 18, 2020
4.14 from 1431 votes (1,250 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  1. Hi Tieghan, I would love to try this recipe; however, do not have apple butter, or enough ingredients on hand to make. What can I substitute for apple butter?

    Thanks!

    Reply

    1. Hey Lisa,
      You could use apple sauce in place of the apple butter. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

      Reply

  2. can these be made ahead of time and frozen? if not, what thanksgiving dessert would you suggest that can be frozen and then used for holiday. was looking more for bars than cookies.

    Thanks.

    Reply

  3. 5 stars
    These were delicious and super easy to make. My oven is old so they took about 45 minutes to bake, I took them out twice to move the liquid on top around the blondies and followed by baking 5 minutes.

    Also I had a little trouble on the first attempted with the glaze, I added the maple syrup directly into the pot after melting the butter and the sugar burned, so I tried again. The second attempt I melted the butter, then put it in a bowl and added the maple syrup, powdered sugar, cinnamon and salt there. Nothing burned and it came out great!

    Thanks for sharing this recipe, I can’t wait to make it again.

    Reply

    1. Hi Madi! I am really glad this recipe turned out so amazing for you! Thank you so much for trying this one! xTieghan

      Reply

    1. Hey Adele,
      You can certainly use pumpkin butter, I would just note that it will change the flavor slightly. I hope you enjoy the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

      Reply

  5. Hello, really nice recipe. Like someone else mentioned, I also did not realize that the brown sugar should be divided and therefore added too much to the dough — I think this is why my bars took a long time to bake. I might suggest adding “,divided” to the ingredients list so folks know to reserve 1/2 cup for the apples. Also, I needed way less than two apples to sprinkle them fully across my 9×13 pan — one large honey crisp should do it.

    Reply

  6. 5 stars
    These are truly very delicious. Very sweet. I sprinkled even more flaky salt on top. I couldn’t find my beloved apple butter anywhere, but applesauce worked just fine. I have a tricky oven and found mine needed longer than suggested to cook, but this is normal for me. Cooked until a knife came out almost clean. FALL!

    Reply

  7. 5 stars
    These were delicious! A little bit of a struggle to find apple butter in Italy (so I think I used an apple butter/apple sauce hybrid) – but either way even with that, these were AMAZING. They made the entire kitchen smell delicious and this will for sure be a go back to recipe!!

    Reply

    1. Hi Emily! Wow I am so happy to hear that!! Thank you so much for trying this one! I hope you continue to enjoy my recipes! xTieghan

      Reply

  8. 3 stars
    Big fan of the site and love all the recipes! Agree with other reviews that end product is more cake-like than a traditional blondie texture. I did not make my own apple butter so maybe that’s the difference?? Good flavor and really easy but wouldn’t make again.

    Reply

    1. Hi Katie! I am sorry the texture was different than expected. I hope you enjoy some other recipes of mine! xTieghan

      Reply

  10. 4 stars
    Mine also came out cake like and a little dry. Bottom was browned but I think I could have taken out 5 minutes earlier. I baked for the 30 minutes. I followed the recipe exactly. Good flavor especially where there were apples. I may try again. You have a gift for presenting your food in a way that is mouth watering. I will be trying a lot more of them.

    Reply

    1. Hi Rebecca! I am really sorry this did not turn out as expected! Is there anything I can help with? I would love to! xTieghan

      Reply

  11. 3 stars
    Unfortunately turned out more like an Apple cake than a blondie. Good flavor but not what I was expecting.

    Reply