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    Apple Crisp Blondies

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    These Apple Crisp Blondies are an apple crisp bar with a blondie base — the perfect combo of chewy blondie, tender apples, and crispy streusel!

    This may be one of my favorite apple desserts.

    apple crisp blondies overhead

    I’ll be the first to admit that I can resist apple crisp no better in the spring than I can in the fall, but I guess there are people who cook and bake seasonally.

    I try really hard to be to fake being one of those people, especially now as a food blogger.

    However, since it’s officially fall. I can bake up as many apple desserts as I want and no one will judge, right?

    So I’d seen tons of recipes all over Pinterest for apple pie bars and apple crisp bars, and I was totally going to try some of them. But then I thought, “why not a blondie?”

    I love the thick, dense, chewy texture of blondies even more than I love a traditional shortbread base!

    apple crisp bars stack

    Now, I’m sure those other apple crisp bars are super amazing. But, I really like blondies.

    And I really wanted to see if I could bake an apple crisp on top of them.

    It took me a couple tries, but I did it.

    Now you know I’m all about minimal effort and dishes. I thought about cooking down the apples on the stove first, before topping the blondie, but that seemed like too much work. I tried putting the apples right on top of the blondie batter and baking together, but the blondie just didn’t set up enough.

    So I compromised. I baked the blondie part way while I microwaved the apples slightly to give them a head start and made my streusel.

    It was a total win.

    apple crisp blondies bite

    I’m kind of embarrassed that I didn’t go all out and mound these with ice cream while I was photographing them. Because what goes better with apple crisp than vanilla ice cream?

    Exactly.

    This time, you’ll just have to forgive me. But make sure you add a big scoop of ice cream to your own when you make these. Because you need to make these.

    *Recipe and photos updated from November 2014

    apple crisp bars stack
    Print Pin Recipe

    Apple Crisp Blondies

    These Apple Crisp Blondies are an apple crisp bar with a blondie base -- the perfect combo of chewy blondie, tender apples, and crispy streusel!
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Prep Time 25 minutes
    Cook Time 35 minutes
    Total Time 1 hour
    Servings 12 servings
    Calories 385kcal
    Author Ashley Fehr

    Ingredients

    Blondies:

    • 1/2 cup butter 1 stick
    • 1 cup brown sugar packed
    • 1 egg
    • 1 tsp vanilla
    • pinch of salt
    • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
    • 1 cup all purpose flour (130g)

    Apples:

    • 3-4 medium apples chopped (peel or no peel -- up to you!) - about 1 lb or 3 cups chopped
    • 1/3 cup brown sugar
    • 1 tbsp flour
    • 1/2 tsp cinnamon

    Streusel

    • 1/2 cup butter
    • 1/2 cup brown sugar
    • 1 cup large oats
    • 2/3 cup flour
    • 1/2 tsp cinnamon

    Instructions

    • Line an 8x8" pan with tin foil and spray with non stick spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
    • For the blondies:In a large bowl, melt the butter. Stir in sugar. Stir in remaining ingredients (through flour). Spread into prepared pan.
    • Bake 15 minutes while you preparing the topping.
    • For the topping:Combine apples, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in the same bowl you used to make the blondies. Microwave for 5 minutes on high. Stir and set aside.
    • In a separate bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, oats, flour and cinnamon until crumbly (I use my fingers, but you could use a fork or pastry cutter).
    • When blondies have baked 15 minutes, spread with apples, and top the apples with the streusel. Press down gently. Bake another 18-20 minutes.
    • Place on a wire rack and cool to room temperature, then chill in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours before removing from the pan and slicing.

    Notes

    *For these photos I made a simple glaze to drizzle over. Simply combine 1 tablespoon milk with 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and stir in 1 tablespoon of powdered icing sugar at a time until you reach desired consistency (I used 4 tablespoons).

    Nutrition (this is an estimate)

    Nutrition Facts
    Apple Crisp Blondies
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 385 Calories from Fat 144
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 16g25%
    Saturated Fat 10g63%
    Cholesterol 54mg18%
    Sodium 151mg7%
    Potassium 141mg4%
    Carbohydrates 58g19%
    Fiber 2g8%
    Sugar 38g42%
    Protein 4g8%
    Vitamin A 517IU10%
    Vitamin C 2mg2%
    Calcium 47mg5%
    Iron 1mg6%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Tried this recipe?Tag @thereciperebel or hashtag #thereciperebel -- I love to see what you're making!

    Comments

    2. 5 stars
      Blondies are the best, but adding apples & streusel, makes them even better!! I love how thick these are!! Time to go buy more apples!

      Reply

    6. 5 stars
      I have to say.. these were AMAZING. The hubby and I loved them & I can’t wait to make them again! Thank you so much!

      Reply

    10. I followed the recipe to the T. Used Granny Smith apples. These did not hold their shape for me. I let them cool for about 30 minutes. There was still a lot of liquid and the foil ripped apart when I tried to take them out of the pan.

      Reply

      • I’m sorry to hear that! Most baking is still pretty warm at the 30 minute mark — I would be sure to chill them for a couple hours before removing. I apologize for not being more specific in the recipe — I will update it now!

        Reply

    11. These look amazing! I want to make them for school tomorrow to cheer up my friends with the cold weather and all, but I don’t have enough butter. Which parts, if any, can be substituted with canola oil or coconut oil? Thank you!

      Reply

      • I have never actually baked with coconut oil so I can’t give you any advice on that. I would say the streusel would be the easiest to swap out because it just needs fat to crisp up and get brown. I hope that helps!

        Reply

    12. I can not believe in this . I baked this apple crisp today and I completely falling in love for this however I work with a health food gluten /lacfree and without sugar so I changed a few of ingredients and the results was amazing.
      Congrats

      Reply

    17. Are the apples tender after microwaving? I’d rather cook them in water on the stove 🙂 The recipe looks great! Thanks!

      Reply

      • The apples are cooked probably 1/2 to 2/3 of the way through in the microwave. You could definitely cook them over the stove instead!

        Reply

    25. I can eat apple desserts all year long too! I love that you made blondies especially with that glorious streusel topping! And I am totally drooling over that gorgeous drizzle shot! This is the best way to start the weekend! I’ll take 5 squares please 🙂

      Reply

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