These Apple Cinnamon Blondies have sautéed apples and cinnamon chips for the ultimate portable fall treat! This easy recipe comes together quickly and tastes like apple pie.
I’m finally 21.
Which means, among other things, that it’s fall! (Oh, and also that now I can start posting boozy dessert recipes! And drink.)
My birthday, September 16th, always falls within the first few weeks of the school year, and is always my marker of when everything starts feeling a whole lot more like fall. Classes start to get into full swing. The air gets a crisp, chilly edge to it between the sunny days, and the leaves just start to change color around the edges.
And then, of course, fall baking starts, and the smells of pumpkin bread, cinnamon, and apple-y desserts dominate the kitchen. It’s a great time, especially for baking.
I love apple desserts, and would say that on most days, I’ll tell people that’s my favorite kind of dessert. Apple crisps, crumbles, pies…I looove it. Especially with cinnamon! The two flavors are a match made in heaven. However, because it’s my favorite, I try to make it less, because I’ll totally devour it embarrassingly quickly.
Most of my baking, I have pretty good self-control. Anything to do with apples? Powerless. Enter: Apple Cinnamon Blondies.
I paired my favorite blondie recipe with my favorite fall flavors, and the result was fantastic. The idea started when I found these cinnamon chips. I had never used them before, but had always been intrigued…so I grabbed ’em and decided they were gonna be made into something delicious with apples.
The blondies are the perfect vessel for the chunks of apple, which are sautéed in a tiny bit of butter and brown sugar. They stay just firm enough, and the blondies stay gooey and soft on the insides. The edges are chewy and caramelized, and the cinnamon chips leave swirls of cinnamon goodness veining through the blondies.
They are the epitome of fall.
(And they make your house smell awesome!)
If you’re like me and love apples, you’ll be in heaven. Enjoy!
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Remember to #bakerita if you try the recipe!

Apple Cinnamon Blondies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, divided
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 medium apple, diced into 1/4” chunks (peeled if desired, I didn’t)
- 1/2 cup cinnamon chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8-by-8-inch pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper and spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a small skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add 2 tablespoons brown sugar and cut apples. Stir to combine. Let simmer together on low heat for about 5 minutes, until apples are slightly softened. Set aside to cool while you prepare blondie batter.
- Melt 1/2 cup butter in the microwave. Combine remaining brown sugar and melted butter in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the egg, vanilla, and whisk to combine. Add the flour, salt, and stir until just combined, taking care not to over-mix. Fold in the cinnamon chips and apples. Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing it lightly with a spatula or offset knife.
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the bars are set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The edges will be slightly pulling away from sides of pan.
- Allow the blondies to cool for at least 2 hours before slicing and serving into 16 squares. I like to refrigerate them before cutting to make them easier to cut.
- They can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.




I would like to use a 13×9 pan, do you know if I need to dbl anything, time…
Thank you!
I absolutely love this recipe! So much so I added it to my ultimate apple recipe roundup…I hope you will come by and take a look! Have a great week xo http://dreamingofleaving.com/2015/09/21/worlds-best-apple-recipe-roundup/
These bars sound amazingly delish! But here in Canada, it will be even harder to find cinnamon chips. Do you think I could substitute chopped up candy melts in one of the special flavours like gingerbread or pumpkin spice?
Hi Susan! That would likely be a great substitution. I’ve never tried using candy melts in a baked good like that, but I presume it should be fine – the chunks just made be a little harder since candy melts harden more than the chips would when cool. Enjoy!! :)
If you love apple recipes, you should meet the baked apple’s other best friend – Ski Queen. It’s a superb Norwegian gjetost cheese that’s like a combination of peanut butter, salty caramel and cheddar. Sold in little blocks with red packaging. Although it’s a combo goat/cow cheese, you don’t notice anything goaty. I first tasted it cut into thin slices and melted onto an apple pie, and later in Norway in huge blocks, from which you peeled thin slices to put on your pumpernickel bread at the breakfast buffet. This stuff is seriously addictive. You should be able to find it in delicatessens, especially those with a ‘northern’ bent. I’m going to try some little chunks blended into your recipe. BTW, by ‘cinnamon chips’, do you mean the melts made by the big confectioner, or do you mean actual chips of cinnamon? (I’m going to have to improvise, regardless).
Hi there! Sounds delicious – I’ll definitely have to look into Ski Queen. I used Hershey’s brand Cinnamon Chips. I found them at Target. Hope this helps. Enjoy :)
Hi! I am really exited to try this recipe! I saw that you recommend we use 1-2 teaspoon cinnamon if we can’t find cinnamon chips (which unfortunatly I can’t). Where in the recipe do you think I should add it? (to the apples or the blondie part).
2nd Question! I’m thinking of adding White Chocolate Chips to give it a little bit of an extra something, since I don’t have the cinnamon chips – do you think that would work well here?
Thank you!
Hi Heather – I’d add the cinnamon along with the flour in the blondie part. White chocolate chips would be delicious here! Hope you enjoy them.
Great, thank you so much Rachel!
These are very moist and crumbly. Delicious! Everyone that tried them loved them. I made them without the cinnamon chips but sprinkled cinnamon on top – I didn’t have the cinnamon chips. Great recipe! Thanks for sharing this one.
Do you think if I added toffee bits instead of cinnamon chips it will still taste good?
Yes that should work and still be delicious!
I’ve made this recipe 5 times now, each with different morsels since cinnamon chips are apparently outlawed where I live. Caramel bits apple blondies? Delicious. Milk chocolate chip apple blondies? Delicious. White chocolate chip apple blondies? Delicious. Pumpkin spice butterscotch apple blondies? Surprise! Fricken delicious. I have a batch in the oven now that I’m taking to work tomorrow for a holiday baked goods contest. Thank you, you marvelous woman, for sharing this recipe with everyone on the interweb. I had to buy bigger pants because of you and I have no regrets.
This makes me so happy, Lindsay!! So glad you’re loving the recipe and hopefully you find cinnamon chips one day – until then, ALL the chips sounds so dang good. Enjoy!
Update: I won the contest! 9/10 insurance adjusters agree: top notch. (The 10th one voted for his own dish like the sore loser he is.)
Yayyyy congrats!!! So happy to hear that!
How can I double this recipe for 13×9? They sound amazing
Yes for sure! Enjoy :)