Brown Butter Apple Blondies Recipe

These soft and sweet brown butter apple blondies are the perfect dessert for the end of the year. They are bursting with apples and filled with flavors like brown sugar, warm vanilla, and cinnamon.

There’s nothing not to love about these brownie alternatives. In fact, sometimes I crave these more than their traditional counterparts. In order to make this dish, you have to split up the recipe into three different parts. Let’s get started.

A Look At The Ingredients List

• Unsalted Butter: This recipe calls for a lot of it, but it’s so worth it!
• Apples: pears would work, too
• Brown Sugar: for a warmer flavor than white sugar
• Cinnamon: use slightly more or less to your liking
• Vanilla: the perfect addition to any baking recipe
• Flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and milk: essentials for baking

Brown Butter Ingredients: 

• 2 sticks butter

Brown Butter Directions: 

Slice the butter into pieces and place it into a large skillet. Melt butter over medium heat, stirring constantly. Once melted, continue to stir. Butter will begin to foam. Continue to stir and cook for about 3-5 minutes. 

The brown butter glaze will begin to brown, and specks will begin to form. Remove from heat and pour 1 cup into a heat-proof bowl and 1/4 into a separate bowl. Be careful, as the butter is very hot. Return the pan to the stove to set aside for apples. 

Apple Ingredients: 

• 2 cups diced apples – peeled, cored, and chopped
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Apple Directions: 

Add apples to skillet and heat over medium heat, until slightly softened, about 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Blondie Ingredients: 

• 1-2/3 cups brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Blondie Directions:

Now, let’s make the blondie batter. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x13x2 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.  Whisk together 1 cup brown butter, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a small mixing bowl. Set aside. 

Combine the rest of the dry ingredients –  flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until combined. Fold in apples. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 33-35 minutes or until the edges are browned, and the center is set. Remove from oven and cool completely. 

Brown Butter Icing

• 1/4 cup browned butter
• 3-4 tablespoons milk
• 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Icing Directions: 

Add 1/4 cup brown butter to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for about 10 seconds or until melted.

Stir well. Add brown butter, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla to a bowl and whisk well. Spread on top of cooled brownies. 

Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm.  Remove from the refrigerator and cut into 24 bars. 

Makes 24 bars

What do you think about these apple brownies? Something you’d like to try? If you love the taste of apple, consider these other apple recipes I have on the blog:

• Apple Crumb Bars Recipe – Perfect Fall Dessert Idea
• Homemade Mini Apple Pie Recipe(Opens in a new browser tab)
• Pressure Cooker Oatmeal Recipe Made With Quaker Oats, Apple, And Cinnamon
• Instant Pot Oatmeal With Apples And Cinnamon
• Apple And Cinnamon Muffin Recipe – Sweet Homemade Breakfast Idea
• Crockpot Apple Cobbler Recipe – Easy Dump Cake
• Slow Cooker Applesauce Recipe
• Honey Apple Pecan Crostini Recipe – The Perfect Appetizer
• Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats Recipe
• Apple Cider Margarita Recipe: Fall Cocktail Idea
• Apple Cinnamon Energy Bites: Super Easy Recipe
• The Perfect Caramel Apple Cookies Recipe

I love this homemade recipe so much because it offers warm nutty notes as well as that fresh apple flavor we all crave this time of the year. I don’t always want to make apple pie, and this is a great alternative. 

Tips and Variations

• If you’d like to swap out the apples for pears, you could absolutely do so. It would be a great idea.
• While your brownies are cooling, you could work on your frosting. It’s important for your brownies to cool completely before you add your frosting. Otherwise, it will just melt off and become a mess.
• It seems like a lot of steps, but this recipe is completely doable and your family will love it. Don’t get discouraged by the way it is all cut up.
• The browning of the butter is easy, but it’s HOT, I may have melted a plastic measuring cup by scooping it into a measuring cup. 🙂
• This recipe is best made during apple season.
• To store, place leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate. 
• Personally, I like to serve this dessert at room temperature. 
• Enjoy with a pumpkin spice latte.
• The kind of apples you use will affect the taste of your finished blondies. They are a delicious treat no matter what but a tart apple will have different end results than sweet apples.
• Consider adding cinnamon to your batter for extra flavor. You could even make a cinnamon maple glaze as the topping. 
• Browning butter really does make a recipe taste different. The additional step takes about 5-7 minutes and is worth the effort.
• Consider adding a dab of apple butter to this recipe to add an extra layer of sweetness to your blondies. Start with 1/4 cup.