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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.
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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
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
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Hello, I have a question about the brown butter icing. Every time i make this particular icing I always find it kinda curdles?! It clumps, it doesn’t stay smooth. So then it doesn’t drizzle well or even spread on. Do you have to let the butter cool for long? Should I avoid adding the ingredients to the brown butter until it’s been cooled? Thank you so much, I love all your wonderful recipes, I’m just not doing something right with the icing!
Cheers,
Chrissy
Hi there! I would make sure your butter is cooled so that way the icing with stay smooth and mix together well! xT
Could you substitute apple sauce for the apple butter?
Yep! That should work just fine! xT
These are amazing! My mom made them several times recently and I thoroughly enjoyed them. I finally got the recipe from her and made them yesterday for some guests. They were a huge hit. We all loved them. I followed the recipe exactly. I can’t weigh in on the cake vs. blondie comments because I don’t think I’ve made blondies before but I’m just sayin’ this recipe is so good and I’m definitely going to be making these again and again.
Hi Jill! Thank you so so much for trying out this recipe! So glad you enjoyed it! xT
Wish I’d read the reviews before baking, as I was disappointed as well. Texture is dense, turned out more like a cake than a brownie. The flavours are there but the texture just didnt seem right. Will have to serve with ice cream.
Hey Jenn! I’m so sorry that this recipe didn’t turn out for you! Thanks for the feedback! xT
I’m an experienced baker and professionally catered baked goods including handmade croissants and layer cakes with special fillings. I’m generally adept in the kitchen. Sad to say these bars are a massive flop. The perimeter of the blondie is a cake bar. The middle is the damp, loose texture of dump cake at best. I’m really not sure if the apple butter made the dough too wet or what. I used my go-to gluten-free all purpose flour blend. I even added an extra 1/4 cup because the dough was so loose. I skipped the extra sugar for the apples. The apples I chose were good, firm baking varieties. (Not sauce varieties, which can release moisture and break down in baked goods.) I baked the bars a bit longer to hopefully compensate. Cake tester came out clean. My heart bravely held on that these would be good. Once I added the glaze and they sat overnight, the middle turned into glop. I’ll just serve the gloppy parts warm with ice cream. Trying to decide if I want to tinker and try rescuing this recipe or not. The flavors hold a lot of potential for a great bar.
Hey there! I am so so sorry about that! Thank you so much for letting me know!
I’ve got to be honest… this recipe is not good. 1) it is not a ‘blondie’ at all 2) it turned out to just be a dry cake. The best part is the apple topping and glaze.
There are so many good recipes on this site, but definitely would recommend going with a different one that this.
Hey Megan! I’m really sorry you didn’t enjoy these blondies! Thank you for your feedback! xT
Made these last year and loved them!! But this year they turned out way too gooey despite swirling around the extra liquid and baking for 5 more minutes. Could it be because my apples were pretty big and let off too much moisture? Should I bake even longer next time? Thanks!!
Hi there! Hmm yes it could just be the moisture from the apples? xT
These are delicious but not at all what I was hoping they’d be. This is a thin sheet cake,much lighter and fluffier than what I would consider blondies. Next time I’d increase the butter and decrease the baking powder to get a chewy blondie texture. Flavor wise these are great though.
Thank you for the feedback Amanda! xT
I liked how easy this recipe was, but the “blondie” part was incredibly dry and more of a crumb cake consistency. Not my favorite! The glaze was delicious though.
Hey Traci! So sorry about that! Thanks for letting me know! xT
2nd year in a row I have made these and they are seriously the BEST!
Love to hear this! Thank you so so much! xT
Wow these are amazing!’
Brown butter always puts it to the next level..and with the hint of salt in the glaze, again over the top ♥️
Love to hear this! Thank you so so much! xT
Mine came out great! Just like the pictures except for the glaze…. I wish I would have waited until the blondies were cool before making the glaze. I even put them in the freezer to cool but the glaze ended up lumpy. Other than that they taste delicious!!
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Hope you’re having a lovely weekend! 🙂 xT
These were delicious! I had to make my own apple butter but it was worth it. The only change I made was to sub bourbon for the maple syrup in the glaze. Love the taste of bourbon with apples and cinnamon! I agree with the comment that they are more like cake than blondies.
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Hope you’re having a lovely weekend! 🙂 xT
I had liquid in the middle 😔
It does not look so great
I haven’t drizzled glaze – but the center of the batch looks like it blew up
I did something not right
Oh no I’m so sorry about that!! Is there anything I can do to help? xT
Like most reviewers say, the recipe title is misleading. These are not blondies. This recipe should be renamed to gooey apple butter cake or something. It is tasty but extremely sweet..
Hi Kim! Thank you for the feedback! xT
These were very tasty! but I don’t think I would make again, definitely more of a sheet cake consistency. The brown butter flavour of the cake is really good though! Also I’m not sure what happened but my glaze turned out crunchy/lumpy? I thought maybe I browned the butter too long and it separated too much