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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.
Hi,
I am so going to make these this weekend, but I am wondering if I can’t find “salted apple butter”, is just “apple butter ok? Should I add extra salt? Thank you
Hi Diane,
Regular apple butter is what you want to use:) I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
Absolutely delic!!! It doesn’t disappoint! It’s gotta be all that brown butter!
Hi Kelli,
Happy Friday!! Thanks a ton for making this recipe and sharing your review, I am so glad it was a winner:)
So yummy. Serve them warm they taste like a caramel apple. Brought these in for my staff today. Big hit!
Hi Pam,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a bunch for trying it out! xT
Hi, I’m looking forward to bake these blondies. In Belgium you can’t find apple butter. Can I replace it with sweetned applesauce?
Hi Barbara,
Here is my recipe for homemade apple butter:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/homemade-slow-cooker-maple-apple-butter/
If you choose to use apple sauce, I would make sure it is thick! I hope you love this recipe! xTieghan
Hi,
What is a good substitute/replacement for apple butter? If it’s unavailable, can we leave it out of the recipe completely? Thank you!
Hi Theresa,
Sorry, you will not want to skip the apple butter, I have a recipe to make from scratch or you can try using a thick apple sauce. I hope this helps! xT
I’ve made these before and remember them being delicious and everyone raved about them but I can’t remember the texture. I made them tonight and they turned out really cakey…..absolutely delicious, but a bit cakey. I feel like it was my error but can’t think of what I did as I followed the steps meticulously. Any tips??
Hey Chelsey,
Happy Monday!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks for making it:) Is it possible you over mixed the batter? xTieghan
Made these last fall and again last night to celebrate apple season! ? they are so delicious and they are my 13 year old daughters absolute favorite and she had been begging me to make them again! This is a wonderful fall recipe!!
Hi Lauren,
Happy Sunday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for making it! xT
We are celebrating Ramadan here and we made this for after iftar treat. It was so delicious! We don’t have ready made apple butter, so we made one from scratch. Definitely trying this again
Hi Aisha,
I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for trying it out! Have the best day:) xT
I’m curious, if I wanted to make the blondie brownie without the apples or the apple butter (because the flavor is too good to not have these brownies all year long) can you recommend how much butter to use to achieve the same texture? I tried it with one cup of butter and they seemed too cakey. Thanks!
Hey Kaitlyn,
I would try one of these blondie recipes:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/salted-milk-chocolate-and-peanut-butter-blondies/
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/chocolate-peanut-butter-pretzel-blondies/
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/pumpkin-butter-chocolate-chip-blondies/
Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
They are delicious, we couldn’t stop eating them!
Hey there,
I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for testing it out! Have a great week! xTieghan
This is a delicious recipe – however, 100% more of a cake than a blondie texture for sure. Not necessarily a bad thing, but different than expected based on the title. Will make again though because it’s so good!
Hi Hannah,
Happy Holidays! Thank you so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!?? xTieghan
All of your recipes are amazing…I have been making a lot of your dessert recipes because this is the time of year for get togethers and I always seem to be tasked with dessert. I made these for a fall girl’s night together and they are the perfect combination of rich blondie, apple pie and that maple glaze just puts them over the top. If you are looking for a non-pumpkin spice fall dessert, these are the best! My next attempt is your Burnt Basque Cheesecake with the Chocolate Sauce on Friday for a Christmas get together.
Hey Leslee,
Happy Friday! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed. Thanks so much for making it and happy holidays!❄️ xTieghan
I’ve been wanting to try this recipe for weeks because I love blondies but was a little disappointed with the outcome. Cooking time way exceeded 25 minutes because the center was still wet while the rest of the cake dried out, unfortunately. Definitely not blondies, more cakey texture. I think the apples mixed into the batter could have balanced the flavor better.
I’ve been wanting to try this recipe for weeks because I love blondes but was a little disappointed with the outcome. Cooking time way exceeded 25 minutes because the center was still wet while the rest of the cake dried out, unfortunately. I think the apples mixed into the batter would have worked better to balance the flavor.
Hey Tricia, I’m so sorry about that! Is there anything you did differently in this recipe? Thanks for letting me know! xTieghan
I made these as part of a cookie box and they were a hit. I prefer them without the glaze. I did taste the glaze and it was very good. However the ones I gave away I added the glaze, family and friends raved about it. This was my first blondie recipe and they were perfect. I did not make any changes to the recipe. The apples stayed firm but soft on top and I loved the texture.
Hey! Thank you so much for trying out this recipe, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Happy Monday ? xTieghan