Better Than Pie, Applesauce Blondies

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An autumn dessert that’s easier than pie. These Applesauce Blondies combine a dairy free blondies recipe with double the fall flavors. Both freshly diced apples and applesauce are baked into this blondie cookie bar recipe.

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Looking forward to apple picking this fall, but not interesting in baking when you get home or using up a bunch of apples in a pie? Then these applesauce blondies are for you.

Since they’re made with only 1-2 apple, it’s also easy to make applesauce bars without a special trip to the orchard.

Here’s how.

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Ingredients

• coconut oil – measure and add in its liquid state. If your oil is solid, you’ll have to melt it first. This can be done in the microwave or near the stove as it’s pre-heating. Make sure that the oil has cooled before mixing with the other wet ingredients, especially the eggs.
• applesauce – unsweetened, at room temperature* (This would also be a great way to repurpose healthy cranberry sauce leftovers.)
• light brown sugar – packed; you can substitute with dark brown sugar or make your own, if necessary.
• vanilla extract
• eggs – large, at room temperature*
• all purpose flour
• baking powder & soda
• spices – ground ginger powder and cinnamon
• apples – both gala and golden delicious; The apples are diced (small) and mixed into the batter. Unlike a pie where they are used as a filling that needs to cook and maintain the right texture. Sure other varieties could be used as well. We left the skin on.

*It is important that the applesauce and eggs are at room temperature for this recipe. Otherwise they will solidify the coconut oil before having a chance mix all the wet ingredients.

If you forgot to pull them out of the fridge before starting, and they’re still cold, wait to add the eggs and oil. Place the eggs (while still in their shell) into a glass with warm water. Whisk together the applesauce, sugar and vanilla. This will help quickly bring them to room temperature so you can continue with the recipe.

How to make applesauce blondies

You’re ~30 minutes away from pulling a fresh batch of these out of the oven. Follow these steps to see how easy making this recipe is.

Start by preheating your oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of an 8 inch square pan with parchment paper and lightly mist with an oil spray.

As you can see, I shove a single piece of parchment into the baking pan. There are neater ways to do this.

In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, applesauce, sugar, vanilla and eggs.

In a smaller bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices.

Cut the apple off the core. Chop into small cubes = 1½ to 1¾ cup (200 grams). Toss the diced apple pieces with the bowl of dry ingredients.

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet. Pour batter into the prepared tin. Spread into an even layer.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Lift the parchment paper out of the tin, onto a metal rack or a thick kitchen towel, to cool before cutting into apple squares.

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Looking for a pretty presentation

As you can see in the pictures, there are little bubbles at the top. To prevent this “tunneling” try to avoid overmixing the batter.

If you want to avoid this and have a prettier presentation, skip mixing the diced apple in with the flour. Instead spread ¾ of them into the bottom of the prepared pan. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together. Spread this batter over the apples. Sprinkle the remaining ¼ of apples over the top.

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