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.)ย 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.ย I did.
I am making these now… I didn’t have apple butter so I used pumpkin, which I’m pretty excited about. However, the baking time has gone on to excess. Maybe it’s from my substitution? It has been in about 50 mins and still a little soupy in the middle
These are quite moist, but if your aren’t baking it could be that the pumpkin was looser than the apple butter, that makes sense. A little extra flour next time will help. Also make sure your oven is at the correct temp, too, sometimes they’re off by a little bit and with blondies that can make a difference.
I made these today. Very tasty!! I was concerned because no leavening agent is called for and I did add a half teaspoon baking powder. Worked out fine.
Traditionally blondies don’t include a leavening agent, as the aim is a dense texture.
I assumed that was the reason but I like a little less dense. They turned out good and that’s the important thing.
What is apple butter please I’m from new Zealand
Hey Kylie, apple butter is a very thick spiced apple spread, or jam. It’s very easy to make yourself, there are lots of recipes on the internet.
Hello! I like this website so much, all the recipes i try are delicious and look just like the picture! I don’ want to horrify anyone but is there any way to make the glaze a little less sweet? Could I use one or two more tablespoons of butter and just a cup of powdered sugar? These blondies are truly amazing and I don’t want to do anything to ruin them. We had to try one even though they were only out of the oven and glazed for half an hour, they were so creamy and melty. I’ve never tasted anything like this.
These blondies are super sweet, Donna, so your question makes sense. You might just half the amount of glaze, and reduce the sweetness that way. I’m glad you liked them, the flavor is so special!
We have guests coming to visit in two weeks. I know what I’m making. Maybe I should make a test batch before then…you know for quality control purposes.
Made them yesterday, and they are sitting in our departmental mail room as I type.. ๐
they are delicious, however I had to adapt the icing, as “someone” left just a couple of tablespoons inside the maple bottle, and I could not make the reduction as planned. But I have maple extract, so that was not too bad of a disaster…
Isn’t that so annoying when ‘someone’ does that?? I’m so glad you had the extract, I’m sure that worked perfectly. Thanks Sally!
Yeah, that “someone” better get me another bottle next time he stops by the grocery store… ๐ Everyone loved the blondies, by the way – they were gone before 10am!
What a brilliant way to infuse fall into a universally favorite treat! Love these flavors together!
maple and apple were made for each other….
Piined..they look amazing!
You had me at maple frosted… be still my heart!
These look dangerous Sue, I will have to bake these with company already in house. Love all the baking that comes with this season.