It may still be 85 degrees here in the Midwest, but it’s October dang-it so nothing can stop my fall baking adventures – not even sweltering heat. These Apple Crisp Blondie Bars are the perfect fall dessert and they are unbelievably good. They start with an ooey gooey browned butter blondie bottom, then spiced honey crisp apple pie filling for the center, and finally a cinnamon oat crisp topping. Who’s drooling?
Oh, and would you believe me if I told you that they’re gluten free? Well, they are thanks to Bob’s Red Mill and their Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour. (not an ad, just a fan!) Basically this means you can swap it cup for cup with regular All Purpose flour for the same results! (So yes, you can use regular flour for this if gluten free isn’t your thing.)
How to Make Apple Crisp Blondie Bars
Even though these Apple Crisp Blondie Bars seem complicated because of the three layers involved, they’re surprisingly easy to make. Each part only takes one bowl and honestly, I dirty just as many dishes making my Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Make the Apple Pie Filling
In the middle of these bars is a delicious spiced apple pie filling made with my favorite apple – Honey Crisp. However, any apple that holds up well to baking will do!
Peel and dice the apples. I like to cut them in small squares. In a medium saucepan, add the butter, apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes, until a sauce begins to form and the apples have slightly softened.
Make a cornstarch slurry by whisking together a tsp of cornstarch with a tsp of water until no clumps remain. Add this to the apple filling and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes. The cornstarch will thicken the sauce so that it’s the perfect consistency for the center of these bars! Once the sauce has thickened, remove the apples from the heat and set aside.
Make the Cinnamon Oat Crisp Topping
Cut up the cold butter into small squares. Add the butter and the rest of the crisp topping ingredients to a medium bowl. Use your hands to combine the ingredients. Pinch the butter and mix everything together until the mixture is combined and pea-sized crumbles appear. Set aside.
Make the Browned Butter Blondie Bottom
This gluten free blondie recipe is adapted from the amazing Heather over at brownedbutterblondie.com. No better place to grab a blondie recipe, amirite?
Prepare a 9X9 square baking pan with non-stick spray and parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350.
First, brown the butter. In a medium saucepan, add the butter and cook over medium heat. The butter will melt and then begin to crackle and pop a little. If it’s splattering everywhere, it’s too hot. Swirl the butter around in the pan and continue to cook until it turns a light amber color and you can see tiny browned bits at the bottom of the pan. Cool slightly.
When the butter is slightly cooled, pour it into a medium sized bowl. Add the brown sugar and whisk until combined and the brown sugar begins to dissolve, about 1 minute. Whisk in the vanilla and salt. Whisk in the eggs, making sure to whisk quickly so that the warm butter doesn’t begin to cook the eggs. Continue to whisk quickly for 2-3 minutes. This helps to add air into the batter which will aide in rising since we aren’t using any baking powder or baking soda in this recipe.
Fold in the flour. It might seem too dry, but just continue to fold and it will come together. Press the blondie batter into an even layer in the prepared baking pan. Add the apple pie filling and spread evenly. Top with the crisp topping.
Baking and Serving
Bake for 35-40 minutes. You will know when it’s done when the apple filling starts to bubble up through the crisp topping around the edges!
There’s two ways I like to enjoy these babies. Serve them warm, right out of the oven, topped with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. OR – stay with me here – put them in the fridge for a couple hours and let them set up. Then they will be more bar-like and less messy. And they are really good cold!
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Apple Crisp Blondie Bars
Description
Apple crisp blondie bars are the perfect decadent fall dessert. They start with a browned butter blondie bottom, then a layer of spiced honeycrisp apple pie filling, and are topped off with a cinnamon oat crisp topping. Oh, and would you believe they’re gluten free?!
Ingredients
For the Spiced Apple Pie Filling
- 4 Honey Crisp Apples, peeled and diced
- 2 TBSP Unsalted Butter
- 1/4 C Light Brown Brown Sugar
- 2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp Allspice
- Pinch of Salt
- 1 tsp. Cornstarch
- 1 tsp. Water
For the Cinnamon Oat Crisp Topping
- 6 TBSP Unsalted Butter, Cold
- 3/4 C Old Fashioned Oats
- 1/2 C Light Brown Sugar
- 1/2 C Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour
- 1 TBSP Cinnamon
- Pinch of Salt
For the Browned Butter Blondie Bottom
- 1 C (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter
- 1 3/4 C Light Brown Sugar
- 2 Lg Eggs
- 3 tsp. Vanilla Extract
- 2 C + 2 TBSP Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour
- 1 tsp. Salt
Instructions
For the Spiced Apple Pie Filling
- Peel and dice the apples.
- Add the apples, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt to a medium skillet or saucepan. Stir and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until a sauce begins to thicken and the apples soften slightly.
- Whisk together the water and cornstarch until no clumps remain.
- Add the cornstarch slurry to the apple mixture and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until the sauce thickens.
- Remove from heat and set aside.
For the Cinnamon Oat Crisp Topping
- Dice the butter into small chunks.
- Add all of the ingredients to a medium bowl and combine using your hands.
- Continue to mix and pinch the butter until everything comes together into pea-sized crumbles.
- Set aside.
For the Browned Butter Blondie Bottom
- Preheat the oven to 350 and prepare a 9X9 baking pan with parchment and non stick spray.
- Brown the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the butter and cook over medium heat. The butter will melt and crackle. Swirl the butter around and continue to cook until in reaches a light amber color and you can see browned bits at the bottom on the pan. Cool slightly
- Pour the butter into a medium bowl.
- Add the brown sugar and whisk until it comes together and the sugar begins to dissolve, about 1 minute.
- Whisk in the salt and vanilla.
- Add the eggs and whisk quickly so that the warm butter doesn’t begin to cook the eggs. Continue to whisk for another 2-3 minutes to incorporate air into the batter. This will help the blondies rise.
- Fold in the flour. It may seem dry at first, but just continue to fold it and it will come together.
- Press the blondie batter into the prepared baking pan into an even layer.
- Spoon on the apple mixture and spread into an even layer.
- Top evenly with the crisp topping.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the sauce from the apple pie filling begins to bubble up through the crisp topping around the edges.
- To serve: Enjoy right out of the oven topped with ice cream and caramel sauce, or let them set up in the fridge for a couple of hours and enjoy cold!
Notes
- You can sub All Purpose flour if needed!
I am eating this right now. It is SO good!! Thank you for sharing!! I just found your site and am excited to try more recipes.
Hey Cindy! So glad you found me and that you enjoyed this recipe!