Soft, chewy, sweet Salted Caramel Apple Blondies stuffed with the best of fall. These lovely, simple squares of happiness are sure to brighten the faces around your holiday table.
Hello, SoFabFood readers! I’m Erica, foodie, cook, baker, photographer, and blogger behind The Crumby Cupcake, and I’m thrilled to be sharing one of my new fave dessert recipes with you here!
It blows me away how fast fall has flown by! It seems like just yesterday I was drinking my first pumpkin spice coffee of the season, and now they’re getting ready to go back into hiding for nine more months, and everyone is all about the gingerbread!
Pumpkin is one of those flavors I could enjoy all year round and never get sick of – but I’m kind of glad that it’s a limited time, seasonal thing. It makes it that much more special, and it’s definitely something to look forward to.
The same goes for treats like caramel apples, which are a thing I personally associate with fall, anyway. September signals the start of apple season, and the county fair comes to my hometown in November – getting messy with a sweet and tart caramel apple while I walk around the fairgrounds is kind of a tradition.
The fun thing about these Salted Caramel Apple Blondies is that they’re acceptable to eat all year long! You won’t catch anyone making faces at you, telling you it’s way too soon for things like that.
Who in their right mind turns down a blondie, anyway?
Especially one as enticing as these bad boys; full of butter and dark brown sugar (the best sugar, IMHO), they’re incredibly chewy, but have a lovely crispy top. The sea salt plays off of the apple and caramel inside, and that familiar flavor of fall is sure to bring a big smile to the face of any sweets lover.
I used caramel bits in this recipe, but I highly recommend quartering actual caramel squares instead. The bits are great for melting on top of things. If you want the perfect, gooey blondies – the kind that leave strands of sugar on your face after you take a bite – trust me, you’ll want to do the extra work and chop up the soft, chewy squares. Luckily, my husband (and everyone else who helped eat the pan) loved them anyway!
Here’s hoping that you do, too! Stop by my blog and let me know if you shared these with your families over the holiday season – and see if any more of my “from the heart” recipes make it to your tables!
- ½ cup + 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, divided
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 medium apple, diced into ¼" chunk
- ½ cup quartered caramel squares
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8x8-inch pan with cooking spray, line with parchment paper, and spray again; set aside.
- In a small saucepan set over low heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, stirring to dissolve and combine. Stir in cinnamon and cut apples. Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes, until apples begin to soften. Set aside to cool.
- Melt remaining ½ cup butter over stove top or in microwave. Place remaining brown sugar and melted butter in a large bowl, whisking to combine. Whisk in the egg and vanilla, then add the flour and salt, stirring until just combined - don't over-mix!
- Gently fold in cooled apples and caramel bits. Pour batter into prepared pan evenly.
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the bars are set and the edges pull slightly away from sides of pan.
- Allow bars to cool in pan for 45-60 minutes before removing them and cutting. To store, place in an airtight container.
We hope you enjoy this delicious recipe for Salted Caramel Apple Blondies from SoFabFood Contributor, Erica Acevedo from The Crumby Cupcake, as much as we do. If you enjoyed this delicious dessert idea, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter so you never miss a single recipe. For daily recipe inspiration, like us on Facebook, follow us on Pinterest, and stop by our Google+ Community to see all of the amazing recipes our community members are sharing. Enjoy!
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