Brown Butter

All three parts of this recipe require brown butter. To save time, I brown all of the butter at once then separate it. If you are making the apple blondies with the glaze, you need a total of 1 cup and 1 tablespoon butter (240 g). If you omit the glaze, you need ¾ cup and 1 tablespoon butter (184 g).

In a medium-sized frying pan, heat butter over medium heat. Stir frequently for a few minutes. The butter will melt and then begin to foam. It is at this point that the butter begins to brown. You will see tiny brown specks and it should smell of toasted nuts. Be careful not to overdo it. The brown butter can quickly burn and turn the specks black. As soon as you see a little browning and notice the nutty smell, remove the pan from the heat.

Leave 1 tablespoon of butter in the pan for cooking the apples. Divide the rest, ¾ into a large bowl for the blondies, ¼ into a small bowl for the glaze. I ladle out three spoons into one bowl, one spoon into the other bowl, and repeat until I have just 1 tablespoon left.

Apples

Peel and chop the apples. Toss them with brown sugar and cinnamon. Add them into the pan with the brown butter and toss them to coat. Cook for about 3 minutes or so, until apples have softened. Set aside.

Blondies

Preheat your oven to 350°F / 177°C. Line a 9"x13" baking dish with parchment paper. It's helpful to have a little bit of parchment paper on the sides to assist with lifting the blondies out of the dish later.

In a small bowl, mix together all purpose flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg until blended. Set aside.

Stir in brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla into large mixing bowl with the ¾ cup (170 g) of brown butter.

Mix in the dry ingredients until just fully incorporated. Be careful to not overmix. The dough will be quite thick.

Gently fold the cooked apples into the dough.

Spread out the dough in an even layer in the prepared baking dish. Bake for around 20-25 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out almost clean. Be careful not to overbake.

Cool the blondies in their pan set on top of a cooling rack. If you attempt to move them too soon, there is a risk of breaking them. When cooled it is safe to lift the blondies out of the pan. Cut them into twenty-four pieces.

Glaze

I decided to dipped my blondies in glaze, however, you could just pour the glaze on top of the uncut blondies while they're still in the pan. Or, you could omit the glaze all together.

The brown butter for the glaze has likely begun to solidify. Melt it if necessary. Mix in confectioner's sugar, vanilla, and milk, whisking until smooth. If the glaze is too thick, add more milk in ⅛ teaspoon increments until you achieve the desired thickness.

If dipping the blondies, once you have dipped them, set them on a parchment paper-lined tray and wait for the glaze to set before storing them. The thicker your glaze is, the longer it will take to set.