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The best ever Chewy Maple Brown Sugar Blondies. Homemade brown sugar blondies, made with browned butter, brown sugar, sweet maple, vanilla, and my favorite baking ingredient, spiced apple butter. These blondies are glazed with my sweet, thick, and creamy brown butter maple glaze. The glaze melts along with pockets of sweet melted chocolate and sprinkles of sea salt. Perfect for autumn, on Halloween night, holidays, snacking, and any other day in between.
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I have the best Friday sweet treat for you all. I love these blondies so much and I couldn’t be more excited to share them. If you could see me right now, you would see the big smile on my face over these maple blondies.
These are without a doubt some of the best cookie bars I’ve shared in a long while. And what I love even more is just how simple and easy they are to throw together!
With September officially here, I’m definitely leaning into fall and breaking into my more cozy recipes. Summer is great, but fall will always be my favorite, it is such a magical time!
These blondie bars are the perfect treat. They feel cozy, taste delicious, and have just the right amount of brown butter and chocolate.
These are not overly sweet, but just right. Think soft in the center, with perfect edges, and just the right amount of sweetness. All thanks to a mix of pure maple syrup and brown sugar.
Perfect cookie bars for this month!
On to the details
Step 1: brown the butter
Of course, brown butter comes into play, because every dessert is made better with a little brown butter. Especially a fall-focused dessert.
Simply add the butter to a small saucepan and let it bubble away until it smells toasted. It’s about a 5-minute process that really helps to make these bars feel and taste that much better than all others!
Step 2: make the dough
Now that the butter is browned, you can add it to your mixing bowl along with dark brown sugar, maple syrup, apple butter, an egg, and vanilla extract.
Mix, mix, mix, then simply stir in the dry ingredients, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
For the apple butter, I used my homemade maple apple butter. This is one of my favorite things to keep in the fridge all fall long. You can use my homemade apple butter or pick some up at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, your local market, or via Amazon. I will say that the homemade recipe works a little better for the cookies, but either is great! Just make sure your apple butter is spiced for best flavor.
Step 3: bake the cookies and make the glaze
Pour the batter into a prepared pan. Place the blondies in the oven to bake. They’ll take around 25 to 30 minutes to fully bake. Watch closely towards the end. You don’t want to over-bake these.
Under-baked is key here!
Now onto the glaze, which is not needed but oh so delicious. It’s what makes these blondies really melt in your mouth, it’s beyond delicious, and easy to make. Just butter, maple syrup, powdered sugar, and salt. Simple, yet delicious.
Once the blondies have cooled on a wire rack, you can drizzle over the glaze, then eat these warm and gooey. Or let them cool and store them. They’re great either way!
I keep my glaze on the drizzly side, but still thick and creamy. That way it can really sink into all the nooks and crannies throughout these buttery blondie bars.
And you all, these are SO YUMMY. Buttery flavored with hints of cinnamon, and vanilla, and topped with delicious and perfectly sweet maple glaze. Enjoy alongside a mug of steaming hot coffee, cider…or maybe even your favorite fall latte. The season is here!
Looking for more baking recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Chewy Brown Sugar Maple Cookies
Glazed Brown Sugar Maple Cookies
Pumpkin Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Milk Chocolate Stuffed Jack-O’-Lantern Cookies
Lastly, if you make these Chewy Maple Brown Sugar Blondies 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!
Chewy Maple Brown Sugar Blondies
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup apple butter
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup chopped chocolate chunks or pecans
Glaze
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/2– 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9×13 inch baking dish with parchment paper.2. Add 1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) butter to a skillet set over medium heat. Allow the butter to brown until it smells toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Pour the brown butter into a mixing bowl. Add the remaining 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter. Let cool for 5 minutes. 3. To the butter, add the brown sugar, maple syrup, apple butter, egg, and vanilla, Beat until creamy. Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Fold in chocolate chips and chunks/pecans.4. Spread the dough into the prepared dish. Bake 18-22 minutes, until the edges are just setting and the center is still doughy. Let cool.5. To make the glaze. Melt together the butter and maple syrup in a small pot over medium heat. Remove from the heat and whisk in the powdered sugar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt.6. 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.
My glaze didn’t turn out right, its way too thick.. could I add milk to thin it? or more melted butter? Thx!
Hey Miriam,
You can add milk to thin the glaze. I hope this helps, have a great weekend! xT
Following up on my previous comments about halving the recipe and making in an 8×8 — I followed the advice to use a whole egg but this (and maybe that I used “normal” consistency applesauce) resulted in a wetter batter that took much longer than the recommended ~20 minutes (closer to 40 in my oven!) and resulted in a rather uneven bar. I also only made about 1/3-1/2 of the provided glaze recipe and that turned out enough. Nevertheless the flavor profile is delicious and I can definitely see how apple butter would improve it. Next time I’ll probably just make the full batch!
Hey there,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe and sharing your notes! So glad to hear it was enjoyed:) Let me know how the full recipes works next time! xT
I want to halve this recipe and make it in an 8×8, do you think it would be possible by skimping on the egg/apple butter/etc?
Or otherwise do you think they would freeE well? We are a household of 2 and can’t possibly consume a 9×13!
Yes, you can freeze them!
Would you recommend freezing them glazed or glazing them after they come out of the freezer? I just pulled them out of the oven, and they smell amazing!
Hi Meagan,
Thanks for making this recipe! I would freeze them without the glaze:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
They haven’t fully cooled yet but I baked them for 21 minutes and they seem raw. The toothpick came out clean so hopefully they settle. Too many chocolate chips in my opinion. But apple butter was pretty good.
Hey there,
I would just fully cut the recipe in half. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Tips on measuring 1/2 egg?
You can just do 1 whole egg:)
What can I substitute for apple butter? Or can I leave it out?
Hi Nicole,
You can use apple sauce in place of the apple butter. Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
Hi!
Can I substitute something else for the apple butter or leave it out completely?
Hi Stacy,
You will want to use a thick apple sauce if you don’t want to use the apple butter. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
I love this dessert. It is perfect! I will be making it again for sure. Love the maple flavor.
I run out of vanilla extract so I used my maple extract (that I love) and it worked just as I thought it would. Thank you for this recipe !!!!
Ps. I ordered your candles (the bundle) and I love them as well. They smell so good 😊
Thank you so much Paulina! so glad you loved the recipe and love to hear that you enjoyed the candles as well! xT
Another winner! These are so delicious! I omitted the chocolate chips, but love the addition of pecans. The flavor reminds me a bit of the Pecan Sandies cookies from Keebler, but a million times more delicious. Mine baked for 20 minutes and came out perfect. I added some Maldon sea salt at the end after the glaze for a little salty balance. Thank you for another great recipe!
Hi Hannah,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear that it turned out well for you:)
These are a huge hit with the family… and me of course ! They are so soft, chewy and absolutely full of fall deliciousness !!!
Thank you so much for trying out this recipe! So glad you enjoyed it! Have a great Halloween 🙂 xT
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe! It’s insanely easy to make and even more delicious. It’s perfect for fall with the maple flavor, brown sugar, and browned butter. I took it to work for my coworkers and it was gone within just a couple of hours. Incredible!
Thank you so much Elisa! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! xT
Very yummy! I baked closer to 22 minutes but wish I had paid closer attention to the instructions where it said “until the edges are setting”. I still thought they tasted very good but could tell I over baked, hopefully I’ll get it right next time.
Thanks so so much for trying out the recipe, I really hope you loved it! xT
There is a discrepancy with your writing about cooking the recipe and then the recipe itself. I made the recipe 22 minutes and it was very undercooked which you said was key. I cooled, put the glaze on, then we tried it. We had to place it back in the oven.
In your writing it says cook 25 to 30 minutes. I think this is more accurate.
Delicious! These make great snacks for my growing 14 year old. And me.
Thank you so much for trying out this recipe! Hope you enjoyed! xT
These turned out wonderful- served them warm with vanilla bean ice cream. Delish! Thanks for another wonderful hit, Tieghan! 🙂
Thank you so much Jenna! xT
These are so yummy! I made these last Saturday, my family loved them! Another double batch is in the oven right now which I‘ll be bringing to work for my birthday.
The only small change I made is I didn‘t use any eggs but increased the amount of apple butter instead.
Thanks so so much for trying out this recipe! Have a lovely day! xT
If you don’t have apple butter can you just add 1/4 cup regular butter? Thanks!
I would use applesauce! xT