I am not one for over promising, but these brown butter salted caramel apple blondies feel just like an warm autumn hug. Sweet and nutty slightly spiced blondies, filled with crunchy but soft apples and topped with a smooth vanilla icing and big dollops of salted caramel… I mean… what’s not to love?!

Brown Butter Salted Caramel Apple Blondies

I present you the epitome of autumn blondies. Days are getting shorter, leaves are browning, you are stocking on apples and comfort is really needed. This is what these blondies are all about, they have all the flavours of autumn and is just topped with one of my favourite comfort foods: salted caramel. They are also oh so easy to make, so it’s just the perfect dessert for that rainy cosy Sunday afternoon when you fancy a treat but don’t want the effort.

This is all you’ll need

• Brown butter
• Brown sugar
• Eggs
• Apples
• Cinnamon
• Vanilla extract
• Plain flour
• Baking powder
• Cream cheese
• Double cream
• Salted caramel
• Icing sugar

About the brown butter

Brown butter is definitely an autumn flavour and incredibly easy to make. All you have to do is cook it in the stove over medium heat until it melts, then, keep cooking, your butter will go from having big bubbles, to small bubbles and will start smelling nutty. Keep cooking until the butter starts taking a golden brown colour and you’ll see some brown pieces, once that has happened, take it off the heat and transfer to a glass bowl and let it come to room temperature.

One important thing to know about brown butter is that some of it evaporates during the process, so you’ll need around 20-30 extra grams before browning. It’s important to always measure your butter after browning it to make sure you have the desired amount.

Brown Butter Salted Caramel Blondies

Ingredients:

For the apples:

• 4 small apples chopped into small cubes (weighting around 240 gr)
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp brown sugar

For the blondies

• 230 gr of brown butter (you’ll need around 260 gr before browning)
• 330 gr of brown sugar
• 2 eggs at room temperature
• 2 tsp of vanilla extract
• 290 gr of plain flour
• 1 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp of baking powder

For the icing

• 200 gr of cream cheese at room temperature
• 150 ml of double cream
• 1 tsp of vanilla bean paste
• 30 gr of icing sugar
• 50 gr of salted caramel (plus more to top)

Method

1. Start by browning the butter. In a pot over medium heat, melt the butter completely stirring frequently. The butter will go from very bubbly to have smaller bubbles and will start smelling nutty. Keep cooking until the butter starts taking a golden brown colour and you’ll see some brown pieces, once that has happened, take it off the heat and transfer to a glass bowl and let it come to room temp.
2. Then, prepare the apples. In a pot over low heat, cook the apples with the cinnamon and brown sugar until they start going soft but still keep their shape and feel firm when pierced with a fork. Cooking time will vary depending on size, but this should take around 5 minutes. Once ready, set aside and allow to cool down.
3. Once the butter and apples are at room temperature, start making the blondies. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees celsius.
4. In a bowl, mix the brown butte and sugar until combined, then add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix again.
5. Fold in the baking powder, flour and cinnamon until combined. Lastly, add the apples and fold them in with a spatula.
6. Pour the mixture into prepared baking pan and bake for roughly 35 minutes, testing for doneness by inserting a knife into the center of the brownies beginning at 25 minutes. You’ll know they’re done when the edges are set, but a knife inserted into the middle still comes out with a bit of batter on it.
7. Allow them to cool down completely before icing. Once ready to ice, mix all the ingredients above and spread over the blondies. You can add extra dollops of salted caramel on top of the icing.