Applesauce Blondies
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My applesauce blondies are soft and gooey, with warming apple pie spices laced throughout. Made with 5 ingredients, one bowl, and no white flour or eggs!
Why I love this recipe
When fall comes around, applesauce becomes a staple ingredient for me. The key word is ingredient, because applesauce on its own reminds me of baby food.
I find it works best in desserts, and these apple blondies are a firm favorite. I loosely adapted my peanut butter blondies, swapping the nut butter for applesauce. Applesauce adds moisture and subtle sweetness, and it means I don’t need to use eggs or oil. Here’s why I love them:
- One bowl. Because let’s be real… fewer dishes are always better.
- Naturally gluten-free. I swap white sugar and flour for maple syrup and coconut flour.
- Easy to customize. I’ll be honest- I kept these blondies as simple as possible. You can add in chocolate chips, nuts, flavor extracts, or other spices.
Table of Contents
Key Ingredients & substitutions
Here’s what you’ll need, along with my kitchen notes. Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
- Unsweetened applesauce. Make sure it’s 100% unsweetened. Sweetened applesauce can make the blondies too sweet and too soft in the center.
- Almond butter. For richness and texture. Feel free to swap it for other nut or seed butter (my partner loves these with cashew butter).
- Maple syrup. Adds sweetness and keeps the blondies gooey and fudgy. Honey works, but it can be a little overpowering.
- Coconut flour. This helps to hold the blondies together. Almond or oat flour works, but double the amount, since coconut flour is much more absorbent.
- Apple pie spice. Use packaged apple pie spice or make your own (I’ll include my mix in the recipe card).
- Brown sugar. Optional, but I sometimes sprinkle a tablespoon or two over the top before baking for a sweet crust.
Variations
- For added apple flavor, fold in some diced fresh apples into the batter.
- For less intense apple flavor, omit the apple pie spice.
- Drizzle the apple blondies with some caramel sauce for a delicious caramel apple flavor.
How to make apple blondies
Step 1- Prep. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
Step 2- Mix the batter. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and stir until a thick mixture is formed.
Step 3- Bake. Transfer to the prepared baking dish and top with sugar if using. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean.
Step 4- Cool and slice. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Refrigerate for at least an hour before slicing.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Remove from the oven while they look undercooked. These blondies firm up as they cool down, so don’t rely on a toothpick.
- Enjoy straight from the fridge. I recommend refrigerating them and enjoying them cold. Something about the texture just works.
- Make thicker/cakier blondies. These are very soft and gooey, so if you like corner pieces or more stability, add an extra tablespoon of coconut flour.
Storage instructions
To store: Store leftover blondies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks.
To freeze: Freeze blondies in a freezer-safe container for up to six months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before enjoying.
More applesauce desserts
Applesauce Blondies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup almond butter can sub for any nut or seed butter
- 1/4 cup coconut flour * See notes
- 3-4 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon apple pie spice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and line an 8 x 8-inch pan with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix very well until a very thick batter is formed.
- Transfer to the greased baking dish and top with a granulated sweetener of choice (optional). Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the tops are golden.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Refrigerate for at least an hour before slicing.
I love your recipes and your presentations. I think you definitely are the best. Easy, fast, easy clean up and delicious.
Thank you for this I’m excited to try it! How much granulated sweetener? I don’t see that in the list.
Hi JB, a teaspoon or 2 should be fine, just enough to sprinkle on top. This is completely optional though 🙂
Excellent flavor and easy to make.
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed the blondies 🙂
Would oat flour work
What do you think would happen if I substituted the nut butter for sour cream or yogurt?
Hi Ashley, it might work but I wouldn’t recommend a 1:1 sub. You’ll still need a bit of nut butter for structure and binding. I would try swapping 50% of the butter for the same amount of full-fat Greek yogurt and see how you go.
Could I just use a brown sugar substitute in place of the maple syrup?
I haven’t tried, but feel free to experiment and see
These were easy to make and very tasty, but mine came out very thin. Your pictures make them appear as if they are as think as a normal blondie (3/4ths inch or more). Mine are barely 1/2 inch. Any ideas?
Hi there! sure, I usually double it and often use a loaf pan 🙂
hi
Can the maple syrup be replaced with an alternative?? I’m not crazy about maple flavor.
Thank you
Hi! You could try agave nectar if that suits you 🙂
Do you think I could use pumpkin puree instead of the applesauce and pumpkin spice instead of apple pie spice?
I haven’t tried, but feel free to experiment and see!
Hey what’s the calories for this recipe?
Check out myfitnesspal to work out the nutritional info 🙂
Hey, thanks for the recipe. Can’t wait to try it and was wondering if I could use oat flour instead of coconut flour?
Hi Christine, this wouldn’t be an easy swap unfortunately. You would need to use quite a bit more oat flour and reduce the liquid ingredients too.
So I’ve made this a few times and recently, I subbed pumpkin puree for the applesauce and made it in mini muffin tins. Turned out great! And they seem a little less crumbly in the muffin tin as well. This is my favorite go-to snack recipe.
I sub half a cup of peanut butter powder, plus 1/4 cup water, instead or regular peanut butter/nut butter, and 3 tbs (plus one on top for the crust) of brown sugar instead of maple syrup. It brings the calories down from almost 2,000 calories, to almost 730! Love this recipe, it has become one of my favorites!
Cheers, Moxii!
Can you use a different type of flour (i.e., rice or masa)
I haven’t tried, but feel free to experiment 🙂
These look like fudgy perfection! I make lots of people test my food as well. I was just having my lil sister, but she hates everything unless it’s Nutella ?
These were so good and easy to make. I couldn’t quite get the crust to form on the top with the Apple pie spice that I sprinkled on before cooking (see photo on Pintrest). Any tips how to achieve the Apple Pie spice crispy top? thanks
Hi Michael! It depends on the brand of apple pie spice, alternatively, you can sprinkle some granulated sweetener over it, which always works out 🙂