Apple pie blondies

Love apple pie, but don’t want to fuss with making pie pastry? This square has a soft brown sugar blondie base and is topped with cinnamon-y apples and an oat crumble on top.

Credit: Bake With Anna Olson

• makes

  23-36

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  50 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

Apples

• 3 cups peeled and diced apple (about 3 apples)
• 60 g unsalted butter
• 50 g (¼ cup, packed) light brown sugar
• 1½ tbsp (30 ml) maple syrup
• 1 tsp (3 g) ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp (1 g) ground allspice
• ¼ tsp (1 g) ground nutmeg

Base and topping

• 225 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 300 g (1 ½ cups, packed) light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
• 2 cups (300 g) plain (all-purpose) flour
• ½ tsp (1.5 g) ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp (2.5 g) salt
• ¾ cup (75 g) rolled oats

Makes one 20 cm (8 inch) square pan. Cuts into 25-36 bite-size squares, or 16 dessert-sized squares.

Cooling time: 30 minutes.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Lightly grease and line a 20 cm (8 inch) square pan with baking (parchment) paper so that the paper comes up the sides.
2. Stir the apples, butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice together in a sauté pan over medium-high heat until it begins to bubble. Let the apples simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apples are tender. Remove the pan from the heat and let this cool to room temperature.
3. For the base, cream the butter and brown sugar together by hand until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each additional and then stir in the vanilla. Stir in the flour, cinnamon and salt until evenly combined.
4. Measure out about 1 cup (250 ml) of this batter and spoon the rest into the prepared pan, using floured fingers to press in the batter. Spread the cooled apples overtop. Stir the oats into the reserved base batter and crumble this on top of the apples. Bake for about 35 minutes, until the crumble top is golden brown.
5. Cool the pan on a rack before slicing, or chill to cut more precise squares. The squares can be served warm or at room temperature (see Note).

Note

• For a plated dessert, serve a warm square with a scoop of ice cream, a dollop of whipped cream, or a slice of Cheddar cheese.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.