Maple Apple Blondies

 Over the weekend, my mom's sister drove into town from Michigan and she brought a bounty of awesome fall treats!  She gifted us with apples, real maple syrup, and apple cider!  No joke, I had been browsing Pinterest the night before she came (not knowing what she was bringing) and I pinned this fall recipe from "A Latte Food." It involves apples and maple syrup so it was the perfect recipe to try out this weekend!  I whipped up these "Maple Apple Blondies" on Sunday morning and I'm not that ashamed to say that the pan is almost gone!

Find Recipe here. 

Maple Apple Blondies (originally from A Latte Food).  My tweaks to the recipe are shown in italics below.

Ingredients

Blondies

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup butter softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Apple Filling

• 2 large apples chopped finely
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Maple Glaze

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line an 11x7 pan with tin foil (or spray with pan with cooking spray). **(I used a 13x9 inch pan)

Apple Filling

1. On med-low heat, cook apple filling mixture for about 3-4 minutes. Pull off heat and allow to cool.

Blondies

1. Cream butter until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add in brown sugar and granulated sugar, and mix until well combined.
2. Add in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Add in salt and vanilla extract. Mix until combined. (I accidentally added the salt to the dry ingredients, and it didn't seem to hinder anything). 
4. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and cinnamon together. Add to the wet ingredients and stir until combined.
5. In the bottom of the pan, spread half the blondie batter evenly, using a spatula (or your hands--batter is very thick, so I prefer to spread with my hands).
6. Spread apple filling all over the layer.
7. Top with remaining blondie batter and spread evenly.
8. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. (The cake tester (toothpick) was key because they don't completely look done at that point, but the toothpick indicated they were ready.)

Maple Glaze

1. Melt butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and cinnamon over low heat. Once melted together, pull off the heat. Sift in powdered sugar, and whisk until fully combined. Allow to cool for 8-10 minutes so the glaze can thicken.
2. Allow bars to cool for about 10 minutes, then pour the glaze over the bars and allow it to set.
3. Slice into squares and enjoy!

This is how the pan of blondies looked after the maple glaze was spread on the warm bars. 

How perfectly fall is this dessert?!

Until Next Time, 

Much Love, Reba