These easy apple cinnamon blondies are the perfect quick and simple apple dessert idea. They're chewy, one-bowl spiced cinnamon blondies stuffed with juicy pieces of fresh apple.
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✏️ Why you'll love this recipe
This cinnamon apple blondie recipe is made using brown sugar for a caramel apple flavour. It's spiced with nutmeg and cinnamon for a warming, comfort food dessert.
It reminds me of apple pie and is delicious either served hot with a scoop of ice cream or allowed to cool into fudgy apple bars. They're like a toffee apple met a snickerdoodle in easy, gooey blondie bar form.
Cinnamon apple blondie bars are also a great dessert recipe for using up leftover fresh apples. You can also make this easy apple syrup if you still have too many apples!
Homemade spiced apple blondies make the best Fall blondies, perfect for Autumn bake sales, dessert tables, potlucks and even as a Thanksgiving treat.
🥘 Ingredients
This cinnamon apple blondies recipe calls for the following ingredients:
- Apple: peeled, cored and cut into small pieces. Use a cooking apple like a Bramley apple.
- Light brown soft sugar
- Unsalted butter: allows you to control the salt content.
- Egg: large size, room temperature for ease of mixing.
- Vanilla extract: use paste or extract over essence for the best flavour.
- Salt
- Plain all-purpose flour: sieve for a smooth blondie batter.
- Cornstarch: fine white powder called cornflour in the UK and other places.
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
See the recipe card for quantities.
Top tip: For accuracy, it's best to weigh your ingredients rather than using cups.
♻️ Substitutions / Variations
I tend to use a cooking apple such as a Bramley apple for this recipe as it softens nicely when baked, but you can also use other varieties such as Granny Smith or Braeburn.
You can swap the cornstarch (a white fine powder called cornflour in the UK and other places) for plain all-purpose flour of the same quantity. However, cornstarch gives that tasty, shorter texture for chewier apple pie blondie bars.
For a less caramel toffee apple hint, swap the brown sugar for white sugar instead.
For more texture, add 50g (⅓ cup) chopped nuts to your spiced apple blondies, such as walnuts or pecans. Include these when you stir in the chopped apples to your batter before baking.
You can also frost or glaze your apple blondies for a sweeter apple dessert. Personally, I love using this easy caramel buttercream for delicious caramel apple blondies, but you could also try a maple glaze or a cream cheese frosting. All great fall dessert ideas!
For a richer, nuttier taste, you can make brown butter apple blondies. Increase the butter amount by an extra 1 tablespoon (15g) and heat all your butter on a medium heat in a saucepan, swirling often, until the melted butter turns a golden brown colour. This should take roughly 5mins. Allow your butter to cool for 10mins before beating in your sugar and continuing with the recipe.
To use a 9-inch square tin instead of an 8-inch tin, keep the recipe the same but bake for 5 minutes less. You'll have a slightly thinner cinnamon apple blondie slice.
📖 Method
Preheat oven: 180°C / 160°C (fan) / Gas Mark 4 / 350°F
Step 1: If you haven't already, peel, core and chop the apples into small pieces (roughly ¼ inch size). Add 2 tablespoon (20g) of brown sugar, stir into the pieces and set aside.
Step 2: In a large heatproof bowl, melt the butter for 30-50secs in the microwave.
Steps 3: Beat in the remaining sugar (200g) until smooth and thickened.
Step 4: Thoroughly beat in the egg, vanilla extract and salt.
Step 5: Sieve in the flour and cornstarch, adding the cinnamon and nutmeg, stirring until just combined.
Step 6: Gently fold in the apple pieces.
Step 7: Pour the blondie mix into a greased and lined 8-inch square pan, smoothing the top gently. Bake for 25-30mins until the top is lightly golden and there is only a slight wobble in the middle.
Step 8: Allow the blondies to cool fully in the tin before removing them, then cut and enjoy!
🎥 Recipe video
Check out the recipe video below for how to make the best apple blondies!
💭 Top tips
- Leave a small overhang of parchment paper so it's easy to lift your apple cinnamon blondies out of the tin after baking.
- Beat your sugar-butter-egg mixture thoroughly until it's smooth and thickened. This will give your apple blondie brownies a soft, gooey texture.
- Your apple blondies are done baking when they've turned a light golden colour on top and there's only a slight wobble left in the middle.
- Let your spiced apple blondies cool in the pan before removing them and cutting into squares. This will stop them from breaking when lifting them out.
- For neater spiced apple squares, place your blondie in the fridge for 30mins - 1hr before slicing. Use a sharp knife and wipe the blade between cuts for the ultimate neatness.
❔ Recipe FAQs
Your apple blondies should last for up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
Yes! You can freeze your apple blondies wrapped in a layer of cling film and a layer of foil for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge and enjoy!
A blondie is a non-chocolate version of a brownie. They're soft and chewy, usually with a slight caramel taste from the use of brown sugar, often mixed with white sugar.
You can make your apple blondies gluten-free by swapping the all-purpose plain flour (and the cornstarch for texture purposes) for a gluten-free all-purpose plain flour blend. Always check the packaging on your ingredients for accurate allergen information.
🧁 Other goodies
Looking for more easy desserts and treats?
For more Fall desserts like these easy apple cinnamon blondies, give these cosy, comforting treats a try:
Check out these easy blondie recipes for more delicious dessert ideas in a simple bar slice form:
- Ube blondies
- Cherry almond bakewell blondies
- White chocolate raspberry blondies
- Strawberry white chocolate blondies
For more blondies check out my full collection of the best blondies recipes.
Looking forward to some new recipes? Check out my Youtube, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest pages for a few sneak peeks and some sweet inspiration!
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📖 Recipe
Apple Cinnamon Blondies
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 150 g (1 ⅓ cups) apple pieces roughly 1-2 apples; peeled, cored and chopped
- 220 g (1 cups) light brown soft sugar
- 150 g (⅔ cups) unsalted butter
- 1 egg large
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 175 g (1 ½ cups) plain all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch fine white powder called cornflour in the UK
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat oven: 180°C / 160°C (fan) / Gas Mark 4 / 350°F
- If you haven't already, peel, core and chop the apples into small pieces (roughly ¼ inch size).
- Stir 2 tablespoon (20g) of brown sugar into the apple pieces and set aside.
- In a large heatproof bowl, melt the butter for 30-50secs in the microwave and beat in the remaining sugar (200g) until smooth and thickened.
- Thoroughly beat in the egg, vanilla extract and salt.
- Sieve in the flour and cornstarch, adding the cinnamon and nutmeg, stirring until just combined.
- Gently fold in the apple pieces until spread through the batter.
- Pour the blondie mix into a greased and lined 8-inch square pan, smoothing the top gently.
- Bake for 25-30mins until the top is lightly golden and there is only a slight wobble in the middle.
- Allow blondies to cool fully in the tin before removing, then cut and enjoy! Or serve warm with ice cream, cream or custard.
Video
Notes
- The cornstarch used in this recipe is a white fine flour, not a yellow coarse flour. However, sometimes this is called cornflour, and the yellow version is called cornstarch (e.g. in the UK and AUS), so be sure to pick the white one!
- Beat your sugar-butter-egg mixture thoroughly until it's thickened and comes together to a smooth mixture.
- Serve your apple blondies hot with a scoop of ice cream or custard, like an apple pie pudding, or allow them to cool for fudgy apple blondies.
- You can swap the cornstarch for more plain all-purpose flour (same amount).
- You can swap the brown sugar for white sugar.
- You can swap the 8-inch square pan for a 9-inch square pan and reduce the baking time by 5mins.
- Double up the recipe and bake these blondies in a large brownie tin for 30-35mins, (e.g. 9inch x 13inch brownie pan).
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate based on an online nutritional calculator, actual values may vary.
Carol says
Love the warming spice in these blondies