Apple Brownies Recipe: How to Make Apple Blondies
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: May 31, 2022 • 2 min read
Apple pie and apple cake, step aside. These tender, moist apple brownies will become your new go-to apple dessert, bolstered by the iconic pairing of soft, sweet apples and crunchy, toasted nuts. Warming cinnamon ties the entire dessert together. Read ahead to learn how to make apple brownies.
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What Are Apple Brownies?
An apple brownie is a dessert bar consisting of flour, a leavening agent, butter, vanilla extract, brown sugar, and diced apples. Apple brownies are chewy, soft, and pack just enough sweetness, making them a great dessert option that you can enjoy year-round.
Technically, this apple recipe more closely resembles a blondie than a brownie due to the omission of any form of chocolate or cocoa. Blondies—short for blonde brownies—are a baked dessert that omits the cocoa powder in traditional brownies. Sweet, chewy, and buttery blondies look more like cookie bars than brownies.
5 Tips for Making Apple Brownies
Here’s how to achieve flavorful apple brownies at home:
- 1. Avoid overbaking. Cook the brownies just until the edges start pulling away from the pan. Make sure the brownies are slightly browned before testing the center for doneness with a toothpick. Overbaking will dry the brownies out.
- 2. Use different kinds of apples. Use different apple varieties, like Granny Smith and McIntosh, for a fun mix-and-match of flavors, textures, and colors. (Learn more about the different types of apples.) Another option to add some diversification is to cut the apples in different ways (for example, slice, small dice, and large dice). The textural variation will make each bite all the more exciting. Lastly, another great addition is applesauce, which will give your brownies even more apple flavor. Use applesauce in place of the eggs and butter for vegan apple blondies.
- 3. Drizzle with caramel. After removing the brownies from the oven and letting them cool, drizzle them with homemade or store-bought caramel sauce to capture the flavor of caramel apples.
- 4. Add chocolate chips. A common addition to standard blondies and brownies, chocolate chips (or chunks) are a great addition to apple brownies. Toss the chips in a bit of flour to help them distribute evenly into the batter.
- 5. Make a sundae or ice cream sandwich. Apple brownies are a customizable dessert, much like their chocolate counterpart. Make an apple brownie sundae by warming a brownie slightly in the microwave and topping it with vanilla ice cream, caramel, and nuts. Alternatively, learn how to make a blondie ice cream sandwich.
Easy Apple Brownies Recipe
makes
1 8-inch square pan of browniesprep time
20 mintotal time
45 mincook time
25 minIngredients
- 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 2
Grease an 8-inch square pan with nonstick cooking spray and line it with parchment paper.
- 3
In a large mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set the bowl aside.
- 4
In a separate large bowl, mix the browned butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.
- 5
Add the eggs, one at a time, to the wet ingredients, mixing thoroughly between additions.
- 6
Add the vanilla extract, apples, and pecans to the wet ingredients and stir well.
- 7
With a wooden spoon, mix the flour mixture into the butter mixture.
- 8
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it into an even layer.
- 9
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
- 10
Cool the brownies to room temperature in the baking pan before cutting and serving.
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