Apple Cider Blondies with Diced Apple and Brown Butter
Holy smokes, these are amazing Apple Cider Blondies! They’re moist and fudgy, with plenty of apple flavor. And with the sweet-tart flavor of cider, these are fall in a bar! Easy and perfect for sharing, I tweaked this recipe again and again until it was perfect!
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I’m on a crusade about desserts with too much sugar in them. These Apple Cider Blondies are the perfect balance; they’re sweet but not too sweet, and much of the sweetness is coming from the apples.
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I make a full 9×13 pan of these for potlucks because they hold up better than a frosted cake on a folding table. They’re not overly thick, but don’t be alarmed when you add the batter to the pan; they will rise some.
Chef Jenn’s Take on Apple Cider Blondies
A lot of apple bar recipes lean on cinnamon to do all the work and skip the apple flavor entirely. You end up with a cinnamon square that sometimes has apple chunks in it. The secret to this recipe is reducing the cider to about a quarter cup before it goes into the batter, which concentrates the actual apple flavor instead of hoping that the raw cider flavor survives the oven.
Browning the butter is the other half. It adds a toasted, almost caramel note underneath the apple that plain melted butter doesn’t give you, and it’s what keeps these from tasting like a basic blondie with fruit dropped in. Reduce the cider, brown the butter, and don’t rush either one.
What You’ll Love About Apple Cider Blondies
- Brown butter and a hard cider reduction do more for the flavor here than any amount of extra cinnamon would, so you get real apple taste instead of just spice.
- One bowl for the wet ingredients, one pan, no mixer required. This is a bar you make on a weeknight if you plan for the cider to reduce while you do something else.
- The cinnamon sugar top bakes into a light crust, so there’s no frosting step and no extra dish to wash.
Ingredients
- Apple cider – Use real cider, not apple juice. Juice is thinner and won’t reduce down the same way.
- Unsalted butter – Cut into cubes so it melts and browns evenly. Salted butter works if you cut the added salt by half.
- Pink Lady apple – Honeycrisp or Granny Smith are good swaps. Skip Red Delicious; it turns mealy once baked.
- Dark brown sugar – Light brown sugar works if that’s what you have, you’ll just lose some molasses flavor.
- Large eggs – Room temperature blends into the batter faster.
- Pure vanilla extract – Use real vanilla extract here, not imitation.
- All-purpose flour – Spoon into the measuring cup and level off. Packed flour makes these dense.
- Baking powder – Check the date. Old baking powder is the top reason bars don’t rise.
- Salt – Table salt works, use about half the amount listed if that’s what’s on hand.
- Ground cinnamon – Standard ground cinnamon, no need for anything specialty.
- Ground allspice – No allspice on hand? Use a pinch of ground cloves.
For the toppings
- Granulated sugar – Standard white sugar, this carries the cinnamon on top.
- Ground cinnamon
- Turbinado sugar – Optional. Also called Sugar in the Raw, and it adds a lovely crunch. Leave it out if you only have granulated; the bars are still fine.
How to Make Apple Cider Blondies
Scroll down for the full recipe card with exact measurements and printable instructions.
Reduce the cider first since it takes the longest. Bring it to a boil, then simmer it down to about a quarter cup, which takes 15 to 20 minutes. Let it cool slightly while you handle the butter.
Brown the butter in a skillet over medium heat, stirring so it doesn’t burn, until it turns golden and smells nutty. Stir in the diced apple and cook for 2 minutes, then set it aside to cool for 5-10 minutes.
Heat the oven to 375°F and line a 9×13-inch pan with parchment or spray it with cooking spray. Whisk the brown sugar, eggs, reduced cider, and vanilla into the cooled brown butter mixture until smooth, then fold in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, and salt. Stop folding as soon as the flour disappears. An overmixed batter bakes up tough instead of tender.
Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon for the topping, stirring in the turbinado sugar if you’re using it. Spread the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar topping evenly over the top.
Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until the edges look set and golden and the center is just set, not glossy. Pull the pan a minute early if you’re unsure, since the bars keep cooking as they cool.
Let the pan cool completely before lifting the bars out by the parchment and cutting into squares. Cutting them warm gets you torn edges instead of clean lines.
Make It A Meal
I put these out at the end of a fall dinner instead of a full cake, since a pan of bars is easier to serve to a crowd than slicing dessert plate by plate. They sit well next to Pumpkin Blondies on a dessert table if you want two bar options instead of one, or next to Nanna’s Apple Cake if apple is the theme for the whole spread.
For a potluck where bars travel better than pie, I’ll bring these alongside Maple Pecan Pie Bars or Cranberry Bars so there’s a tart option next to the sweeter apple one.
Storage
Store cooled bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or refrigerate up to a week. Freeze wrapped squares for up to 2 months and thaw at room temperature before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Browning is what gives these their depth, so I don’t recommend skipping it. Melted butter alone will still work structurally, but the bars will taste flatter and lose the nutty edge that makes them worth making.
Yes, but bake it in two separate 9×13 pans rather than one larger one. A single deeper pan changes the bake time and can leave the center underdone while the edges overbake.
This is usually old baking powder or overmixed batter. Check the date on your baking powder first, then make sure you’re folding the dry ingredients in just until they disappear, not stirring hard.
Yes. The bars still work without it, you’ll just lose the light crust on top. A dusting of powdered sugar after baking is a fine substitute if you want a little something on top.
Apple Cider Blondies Recipe
Ingredients
For the blondies
- 1½ cups apple cider
- ¾ cup unsalted butter cut into cubes
- 1 cup Pink Lady apple finely diced
- 1¼ cups packed dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- non-stick baking spray or parchement paper
For the topping
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar optional
Instructions
- Bring the apple cider to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until reduced to ¼ cup, about 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool slightly.
- Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until golden brown and fragrant. Add the diced apple and cook 2 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and let cool about 5 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 375°F. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper or coat with baking spray.
- Whisk the brown sugar, eggs, reduced cider, and vanilla into the cooled brown butter and apple mixture until smooth.
- Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, and salt. Fold with a spatula just until combined. Do not overmix.
- Combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Stir in the turbinado sugar if using.
- Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
- Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar topping evenly over the surface.
- Bake 20 to 22 minutes, until the edges are set and golden and the center is just set. Do not overbake.
- Let the blondies cool completely in the pan before lifting out and cutting into squares.
Notes
Recipe Card Tips
- Brown the butter until it smells nutty and looks golden, not just melted. This is the step people rush most, and it’s the one that separates these from a plain blondie.
- If doubling, use two pans instead of one large one. A deeper single pan bakes unevenly and can leave the middle underdone.
Nutrition
A Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for this recipe is provided as a courtesy and is calculated based on available online ingredient information. It is only an approximate value. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site cannot be guaranteed.