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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.
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.
Very good! I altered the recipe due to others saying it was too cakey. I did 1/4 cup less flour and 1/2 tsp less baking powder. I also only used 1 apple. It’s much more dense like a blondie but still very soft. I also folded in the dry ingredients slowly. Hope that helps! Thanks!
Hi Erin,
Happy Sunday! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner. Thanks a lot for giving it a try! xTieghan
My friend sent me this recipe and OMG it’s delicious. It screams fall! I did bake mine longer as I used a glass pan. I also used a piping bag to put frosting on.
It is a little more cake like in texture but it’s so good – it’s perfect!
Hey Jennifer,
Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for making it! Have the best weekend? xTieghan
Absolutely delicious but the consistency is more like a cake. Yours look denser too.. Wondering where I went wrong!
Hey Amber,
Wonderful!! So glad to hear that this recipe was loved, thanks for making it:) Was there anything you adjusted? xTieghan
Is it possible to substitute something for the apple butter? Maybe applesauce?
Hey Kris,
Yes, apple butter will also work well for you here. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Wow, five stars! I love how unique this recipe is in terms of bars. I just made these and they’re fantastic. The only modifications I made were that I used 1 cup b. sugar instead of 1.5 cups, and I used white whole wheat flour instead of AP. They’re still plenty sweet and moist. I highly recommend NOT skipping on the apples, they add something special 🙂 Thanks for the recipe. I will make these again and again.
Hey PJ,
Thanks a bunch for trying out this recipe, I am delighted to hear that it was enjoyed! Have the best day:) xTieghan
In no way are these blondies. I just made apple cake. It’s good, but not blondies. I read the bad reviews before making it, and forged on anyway. A trick for making blondies/brownies chewier is to sub cornstarch for flour, 1 for 1 ratio. I used 2 TBS less flour and subbed in 2 TBS cornstarch in hopes this would yield a less-cakey result. That was the only substitution I made.
After eating my apple cake, I compared this recipe to several blondie recipes online. This recipe calls for less butter, less sugar, and more flour.
Maybe 2 sticks of butter, 2 cups brown sugar (half light and dark, even) sub cornstarch, titch less baking powder, add an egg yolk, and they would be more blondie like?
Hey Joey,
Thanks for sharing your feedback, this recipe is what worked best for me and gave me the best results. Please feel free to adjust to your liking:) xTieghan
These were so good but I (and everyone else that enjoyed them) have to agree that the texture was way more cake than blondie. The glaze is to die for and I will definitely be making again but may try a different blondie “base” and then just add apple butter and the toppings to get the flavor.
Hey Kelsey,
Awesome! I am so glad that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a go! Sorry you found the texture to be off. xTieghan
I made these last night for the family. We are not super sweet tooth type people. Very very good! I had to put them back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes as you suggested and we ended up holding out the maple glaze since we felt they were sweet enough for us as is and were concerned it would make them too sweet. Absolutely would go perfect with some vanilla bean ice cream. A great Fall recipe!
Hey Katie,
Awesome! I am so glad that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a go! xTieghan
I made these but they came out more like a cake and not gooey. They were dry. Any suggestions??
Hey Donna,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, sorry they did not turn out as you had expected. Was there anything you adjusted in the recipe? What temp did you bake them at? A little more info would be helpful:) xTieghan
Ooh I wanted to love those so bad, but unfortunately I feel let down. After making apple butter yesterday & following this step by step I’m left with a cake. The flavor is there, but dang too much flour! I was expecting a nice chewy bar. I didn’t read all the other comments about if you use a glass pan that the cake doesn’t set after the 25-30 mins, but obviously figured that out. So not sure if this cake is more cake like because of the time or the flour. Gonna try it again because I know this recipe could be great!
Hey Alyssa,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, so sorry you didn’t enjoy the texture. Was there anything you adjusted in the recipe? Let me know how I can help! xTieghan
This recipe is dangerous because it is SO ADDICTING! I followed the recipe exactly and had no issues with the consistency of the batter. It came out perfect. Will definitely be making for Thanksgiving!
Hey Rebekah,
Happy Sunday! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! xTieghan
Hi there – I live at 9,000 feet elevation. Any tips on changes for this altitude? Thanks!!! Love your stuff – huge fan!!
Hey Norlan,
No adjustments are needed, you can follow the recipe as is! I hope you love the blondies, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Thought these were flavourful, like others, I had difficulty getting the bars to bake through properly. After an additional 15 minutes of bake time they hadn’t set in the middle. Will try again though!
Hey Stephanie,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try! What kind of pan did you use? If you used glass it usually will take longer in the oven:) Let me know how I can help! xTieghan
This recipe looks so good! I’m going to try it for a party and was wondering if you think adding some pecans in it would be any good?
Hey Daniel,
Sure, I bet pecans would be great here. I hope you love the recipe, let me know how it turns out! xTieghan
Best ive had.
Hey Kyle,
I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! xTieghan
Hi, I’m trying this recipe right now, I just noticed the instructions on when Adding the applesauce/butter isn’t clear. In fact I made the dough and never read when Adding it.
At the end I had to spread it over the chopped Apple mix, I don’t think I will result but I didn’t had any option what to do with it.
Thank you though for the recipe!
Hey Lorena,
Sorry for any confusion, the apple butter is added in step 2:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan,
I wanted to try this recipe tonight but I don’t have apple butter and I don’t have enough apples to make applesauce…could I sub in pumpkin puree for a similar result? Obviously the flavor will be different but I thought it might still work. I’d love to get your thoughts! Thanks 🙂
Hey Debbie,
Sure, pumpkin butter will work here! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan