Brown Butter Apple Bars
Soft and chewy, these brown butter apple bars combine a delicious brown butter blondie with cinnamon spiced apples to create a delicious fall treat!
I have a wonderful new recipe to share with you today! These brown butter apple bars are insanely delicious. They combine the best of fall flavors into a moist cake-like bar that just melts in your mouth.
It’s officially fall here in Michigan, which means all the fun of apple picking and donuts and cider. We’ve already gone apple picking twice and when I offered to bring a dessert to a neighborhood potluck, I knew it needed to be something with apples. I wanted something that would be easy to pick up and eat (so not a pie or a crisp), and I wanted to try something new. So with those guidelines I went searching for a recipe. As soon as I found the recipe for these brown butter apple bars I knew they were going to be good.
The bars themselves are delicious on their own – more like a chewy cake-like blondie than a cookie bar. You start with brown butter which gives the bars a deep nutty flavor. Then you stir in some cinnamon spiced apples and top the whole thing with a brown butter glaze. They are absolutely delicious.
The bars are sturdy enough that you can pick them up to eat them once they’re cool, but they’re incredibly soft and chewy and sort of melt in your mouth as you eat them. We took these to a pot-luck where they were a big hit. We ended up bringing a few home and ate them warmed in the microwave with ice cream on top. Yum!!
If you find yourself with extra apples this fall season, you need to try these brown butter apple bars. You won’t be sorry!
Brown Butter Apple Bars
Soft and chewy, these brown butter apple bars combine a delicious brown butter blondie with cinnamon spiced apples to create a delicious fall treat!
Ingredients
Apples
- 2 cups peeled chopped apples (about 2 medium apples)
- 2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup (or brown sugar)
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Blondies
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces*
- 2 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 and 2/3 cups packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Brown Butter Icing
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 and 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Brown the butter: Slice the butter into pieces and place in a light-colored skillet. (It's easiest to brown the butter for the blondies and the butter for the glaze at the same time, so you may want to combine them in this step!) Melt the butter over medium heat, stirring constantly. Once melted, the butter will begin to foam. Keep stirring. After 5-8 minutes, the butter will begin browning and you’ll notice lightly browned specks begin to form at the bottom of the pan. You will smell a nutty aroma. As the sound of crackling starts to die down, remove from heat, pour into a heat-proof bowl, and set aside until ready to use. (If you combined the butter for the blondies and the butter for the glaze, remove 4 Tbsp of the browned butter and set it aside for the glaze. The remaining butter is for the blondies).
- Prepare the apples: Meanwhile, return the pan to the stove. (No need to rinse out!) Add the apples, maple syrup/brown sugar, and cinnamon. Stir and cook over medium heat until apples have slightly softened, about 3-5 minutes. Set apples aside.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking pan.
- Make the blondies: Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a large bowl.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the 1 cup browned butter, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in the apples.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Bake for about 35 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Remove from the oven and allow the blondies to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack.
- Brown butter icing: If the 4 Tbsp of brown butter you set aside in step 1 has solidified, heat in the microwave for a few seconds. Whisk in confectioners’ sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. If needed, add more confectioners’ sugar to thicken or more milk to thin out. Drizzle over cooled blondies, then cut into squares.
- Cover and store leftover iced blondies at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction
Welcome! I'm Megan and it's my hope that here you'll find food that has been made with love and recipes that are shared with joy. Thanks for stopping by! 
So happy to see this recipe. I check your blog every week. Here in Kansas City, the Jonathan apples are wonderful and I will use them in this recipe. Loved the photos of your beautiful children and hope they are thriving.
This looks wonderful! I have been making apple crisp so this will be a nice change. Hope all your family is doing well!
Megan this recipe was amazing – would you recommend pouring honey or maple syrup with it? My partner has a sweet tooth and think it would pair nicely!
Kara