Maple Frosted Apple Blondies — these are moist dense blondies studded with tart apple chunks and topped with an ultra-sweet maple glaze — hello Fall!
maple frosted apple blondies are hard to resist
I recommend having company around to help out with the eating part (you don’t want to be left alone with a pan of these, trust me.)Â I’ll be honest, these blondies are intensely sweet, sweeter than most of the desserts here at tvfgi. And there’s something about the texture of the blondie paired with the maple sugar frosting (and the bits of tart Granny Smith apple) that makes them irresistible. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
what you’ll need for moist apple blondies
When I have an idea for a recipe I often start by going back to something I’ve already had success with to use as a base for my experimentation. In this case I loved the texture of my Banana Blondies, and figured they’d be a good starting point for these. I guessed I could easily replace the mashed banana with apple butter, since they both have a similar consistency, and I was right. I was able to add the chopped apples without any other adjustment, so it was a pretty straightforward adaptation.
- apple
- apple butter
- maple syrup
- butter
- cream
- brown sugar
- confectioner’s sugar
- egg
- flour
- vanilla
- cinnamon
- salt
infusing maple flavor into the frosting
Maple is a fabulous flavor but it can be difficult to infuse into baked goods. I like to reduce pure maple syrup by boiling it, which concentrates the flavor. In essence I make a maple caramel base for this frosting — and the result is a fudgy maple layer that is sooooo good.
TIP: You can infuse maple into your baking in several other ways. For instance there is maple extract, (use it just like vanilla extract) maple powder, (dehydrated maple syrup) and maple sugar, (use it in a 1 to 1 ratio for regular sugar.)
The maple/caramel frosting sets up fast, so have everything ready to go and spread it immediately after pouring it onto the (mostly) cooled blondies.
TIP: Be sure to sift your powdered sugar, if you skip this step you can wind up with lumps in your glaze.
We adore maple!
- Maple Walnut Blondies
- Maple Glazed Pumpkin Muffins
- Maple Walnut Butter
- Maple Pecan Pound Cake
- Maple Frangipane Pecan Pie
- Salted Maple Caramel Sauce
- Maple Glazed Oatmeal Cookies
Maple Frosted Apple Blondies
Equipment
- 9×9 square baking pan
Ingredients
blondies
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup apple butter
- 1 medium apple, peeled and finely diced (1 cup)
- 1 cup all purpose flour
maple frosting
- 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 2 Tbsp cream, or milk
- 1 1/2 cup powdered, confectioner’s sugar, sifted
Instructions
- Set oven to 350F
- Lightly spray a 9×9 square baking dish.
- Beat the butter and sugar together until well blended.
- Beat in the egg, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon. Fold in the apple butter and the chopped apples.
- Fold in the flour, mixing just until combined.
- Spread the batter evenly into the baking dish and bake for 30 minutes, or until set in the middle and a toothpick comes out without wet batter clinging to it (there can be moist crumbs.) Cool on a rack.
- To make the maple frosting, put the maple syrup in a medium saucepan and bring it to a boil Boil for about 5 minutes, until reduced to 1/2 cup. Take off the heat and add the butter and cream and stir to combine and melt the butter. Whisk in the sifted powdered sugar and blend until smooth. Pour over the blondies and spread out with a spatula. The frosting will set up quickly so don’t dawdle.
Notes
- Granny Smith apples (the green ones) are great in this recipe because their tartness contrasts with the overall sweetness of the bars, plus, they hold their shape and don’t turn to mush.
- Line your pan with parchment paper with overhanging ends so you can lift out your blondies for neater cutting, if you like. I did.
Nutrition
Hello fall is right. These look great and I love the close ups!
Ahhh that frosting! I feel like an Autumn Squirrel ready to lurk in a tree outside the kitchen window – in case it should be left open and I could sneak a piece 😀 Yum! I have yet to make blondies – can you believe it?! This has got to change, thanks for the inspiration 🙂 x
Lol!! Any lurking squirrels would be out of luck, between me and my husband we do a pretty thorough job of finishing off these blondies.
I feel like I’m pinning every single recipe you send via email…oh, that’s because I am! I am this close to chewing on the screen right now, just to get a taste of these luscious blondies. This close, I tell you.
Thank you! Ardith
haha, I guess I must be doing something right, wanting to chew the screen is pretty great 🙂
Another winner! I come from an area of the country where maple syrup is made. I know lots of people who are going to enjoy this! Thanks.
I miss living in New Hampshire, where we could tap our own trees!
Will definitely be making these. Looks delish!!!!
Oh wow, these look like Fall on a plate! I’m just like you, Sue…whenever I have a new idea, I go back to a recipe base that worked in the past. In fact, recipes like that are usually the ones I like the most…you’re just improving on something that was already good to begin with! Unfortunately, I don’t think there is any way to improve on these blondies, though. They’re already perfect! 🙂
Especially with baking, David, starting from ground zero is tough!
You had me at maple! I don’t eat eggs/dairy, but I’m sure I can use substitutes in your recipe. It looks so delicious!
Please let us know if you try a vegan version Amy 🙂
Lots of sugar and butter…I bet they taste heavenly!
Holy drool, these look fantastic! I am a die hard maple fan. I’ve made frosting like this with maple extract before, but I love your reduction idea. Plus I have these super cool crunchy maple flakes of dehydrated syrup – like maple sprinkles 😀
I came up with the reduction idea because I’ve never been happy with the depth of maple flavor when I use it as is, Leslie. And where do you find maple sprinkles?? I need some 🙂
Hello Fall! These are perfect to kick off the season! Love these Sue!