The blondie. It’s a treat that you do not see that often, but at first taste you most likely recognize. I made blondies about nine years ago, and my neighbor still talks about them to this day, and hence why I revisited the blondie style dessert bar, well that… and I wanted to twist up the classic blondie with some of these recent fall flavors. Yes, I will admit at this time that I am hooked on those fall dessert flavors, and to me that adds up to things like cinnamon, apples, brown sugar, and pumpkin spices. I decided I would take both the blondie, and those fall flavors and turn them those into a fall dessert bar, and girl was I happy I did. Welcome the caramel apple blondie.
A recent outing to do our annual picking at one of our favorite orchards, The Elegant Farmer brought much excited to my wife and daughter who would have their daily apple for lunch, but me? What about me? I immediately knew that I would be the one coming up with recipe ideas, and this one was sure gone quickly.
This is one of those great treats. You mix, slide it into a baking dish, bake, cool, and dig in. Get ready for some simple delight! Let’s get started.
Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup of unsalted butter, melted
- 2 1/4 cups of light brown sugar, packed
- 3 whole eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups of all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cooking oats
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup of salted caramel chip morsels
- 2 cups diced apples, skins removed
- cooking spray
Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 (or similar size) dish with the cooking spray and set aside.
Next, add the flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt to a bowl and mix well. To another mixing bowl (you can do this by hand if you want), add the sugar, and butter. Turn on your mixture and begin to cream the butter and sugar. While you are mixing add in the vanilla, and one egg, one at a time. Make sure you add the other two eggs and mix to make a nice and creamy mixture.
Now, slowly add in the flour mixture, and continue to mix. After a minute or so, stop mixing and scrape down the bowl. Continue to mix on low, then add in your apples, and caramel chips. Mix well, then add the entire mixture into the baking dish. Spread and gently form into the dish.
Bake for about 45 minutes, but check on them at about 40 minutes in.
I check the middle, as I would do cakes or brownies, and insert a knife in the middle. If it comes out ‘clean’ for the most part, you are good to go. Let this sucker cool to room temperature before slicing into bars.
The beauty about this recipe is not only the flavor and fix for your sweet tooth, but it’s a bit firm on the outer, and soft and yummy in the middle.
If you are looking to use up a couple of apples from your recent apple orchard picking adventure, or looking to get some fruit into your weekly dessert, then give this one a shot. I’ll admit, these lasted a little under one day. As much as that always leaves me scratching my head (as if how did this happen?) I knew they were good and a bit surprised they lasted that long! Hope you enjoy!