Easy Apple Blondies with Cider Glaze

These Easy Apple Blondies are soft and chewy with a killer cinnamon spiked apple cider glaze. 

Easy Apple Blondies with Cider Glaze | Neighborfoodblog.com

Finally. An apple recipe on Neighborfood. Can you believe it’s October and I have yet to post an apple or pumpkin recipe on the blog?

Sure, I’ve been going crazy with the slow cooking and the pots o’ soup, and there was that Autumn Sangria, but this is the first real, true apple recipe the blog has seen this year.

Luckily, the rest of the world seems to have plenty of them. I”ll refer you to Rachel Cook’s collection of over 20 fall apple recipes and this collection of 50 pumpkin recipes from The Recipe Critic. That should keep us all occupied for the next few months years right?

Easy Apple Blondies with Cider Glaze | Neighborfoodblog.com

The Mr. and I finally made it to the cider mill this past weekend, and I couldn’t wait to come home and make my first apple recipe of the season.

Blondies are one of my favorite desserts–partly because they’re so easy to make, but mainly because I looooooove brown sugar. Blondies are essentially an excuse to eat thick, brown sugar cookie dough, and not waste your time scooping it out onto a baking sheet. It’s made in one bowl and can be thrown in the oven in about 20 minutes. What’s not to love about that?

To make these more appropriate for fall, I decided to add a layer of apples to the top and smother it in cinnamon cider glaze. Because you know what sweet, buttery blondies need? Sweet, cidery sauce. That’s the way I roll.

Easy Apple Blondies with Cider Glaze | Neighborfoodblog.com

Even with the addition of the apples and cider glaze, this recipe can still easily be made in under an hour. The glaze is made by cooking the cider down until it starts to get syrupy and then whisking in some powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, and cinnamon until it’s drizzle-able. It takes about 15 minutes for the cider to cook down, but the best thing you can do during those 15 minutes is leave it the heck alone. You don’t need to stir, or swirl, or stand over the pot. Go read a book, paint your nails, do some yoga poses, and let the cider do it’s thang.

A word about the glaze: it’s addictive. You’ll want to put it on all the things. I’m especially excited to try it on pancakes, ice cream, and in a cup of coffee. I’m even thinking of using the apple cider glaze as a dipping sauce for sliced apples. How’s that for some fall on fall action?

Easy Apple Blondies with Cider Glaze | Neighborfoodblog.com

I do suggest eating these the day you make them, as the apples tend to a get a little soggy if you leave them set for too long. If you want to make them ahead of time, I suggest leaving the apples off the top and drizzling them with the cider glaze just before serving. You’ll still get a burst of cinnamon and apple and you won’t compromise the texture.

Don’t be concerned if you find yourself single-handedly consuming the entire batch. It happens to the best of us.

Easy Apple Blondies with Cider Glaze

Easy Apple Blondies with Cider Glaze

Yield: 9
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

For the blondies:

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick butter), melted
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar (dark is best, but light works just fine)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 apple, sliced
  • Handful chopped pecans (optional)

For the glaze:

  • 1 cup apple cider
  • 1 Tablespoon butter
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8 x 8 inch baking sheet, or, if you want to be able to remove the entire pan of blondies in one piece, line it with foil then grease and flour the foil.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Add the baking powder, soda, salt, and flour and stir until combined.
  • Pour all but about 1/4 cup of batter into the prepared pan. Lay apple slices on top then dot with remaining batter and scatter with pecans if desired. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until blondies are golden and set throughout.
  • For the glaze:

    1. Place apple cider in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium high (or whatever temp will maintain a gentle boil), and continue to boil for 15-20 minutes, or until cider is reduced to about 1/2 cup. Add cinnamon, vanilla, and butter, then whisk in powdered sugar until smooth. If you'd like it a little thicker, whisk in a tad more powdered sugar, but remember the mixture will thicken as it cools. Drizzle over the bars and serve within a few hours.

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    Recipe Adapted from Simply Recipes

    6 Comments

    1. I’ve tried those bloondies a few weeks ago on a family gathering, and they LOVED THEM! Such a delicious recipe and the glaaaze yummmmmmm, i can’t wait to try them over pancakes too! Greetings all the way from Bahrain ๐Ÿ™‚ xx

    2. I haven’t been baking much with pumpkin or apple either, at least not as much as I would like. I really gotta get on that. I’m feeling a deep shame that only a food blogger can feel about this. Nice work with these apple blondies, Courtney. They look fabulous, especially with that cider glaze. I’d be a bit heavy handed with my pour (i.e. pouring straight into my mouth).

    3. These look phenomenal- and that drippy, yummy cider glaze is killing me! I would be scooping that up off the bottom of the pan with my fingers (like a lady, obvs)

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