Fall recipes are my favorite recipes to develop. Apple, cinnamon and pumpkin are just divine flavors and make up the best baked goods in the world. Apple pie? Pumpkin Pie? I would eat them year-round but apparently, it is only socially acceptable in the fall? Anyway, I developed this apple cider blondies recipe because apple cider doughnuts are not always easy to make for the home baker. These have all the flavor of apple cider doughnuts with none of the frying. I call this a cheater’s apple cider doughnut.
The base is a super chewy apple cider blondie made with Apple Cider Jam. Now, you can buy apple cider jam but I find that it is just easier AND the flavor is better when you make it from scratch. The process will take about 45 minutes total but it is the KEY to getting that apple cider flavor.
Apple Cider Blondies
Ingredients
BLONDIES
- 2 cups apple cider you will reduce this to a bit less than 1/4 cup
- 1/2 cup melted butter (113g)
- 1 cup brown sugar (200g)
- 1 egg+ 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (126g)
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
TOPPING
- 1/3 cup white granulated sugar (66g)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
Make the Apple Cider Syrup
- Place a 2 qt saucepan over medium-high heat and add in the two cups of apple cider. Bring to a simmer and stir intermittently using a nonstick spatula. After about 30 minutes, the liquid should be reduced to about half by this point. Turn heat to high so the liquid comes to a rolling boil and continue to carefully stir while making sure the pot doesn't overflow! This will take about 5 minutes. Turn the heat down to low to check the progress on the reduction. You should end up with slightly less 1/4 cup of syrupy liquid, it will get thicker as it cools. Set aside and continue with recipe
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8 x 8 baking pan with parchment paper
- In a large bowl, combine, melted, butter, and brown sugar -mix with a non stick spatula
- Add in eggs and vanilla. Mix again. Add in the apple cider jam! Mix until smooth
- Add in dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon) and mix until combined
- Pour into prepared baking pan. In a small separate bowl, combine white sugar and cinnamon and mix thoroughly
- Pour the cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the batter in pan. Smooth out so that it covers the top of the blondies completely.
- Bake for 28 to 30 minutes or until edges are fully set and a toothpick inserted into the center of the blondies comes out clean. If you want a more "fudgy" rather than a cakey blondie, err on the side of less baking time! Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 20 minutes.
These were insanely good.
These came out great.
In order to hover less over the cider reduction I left the heat a little lower.
Because I don’t trust the clock to measure reduction, and I can’t tell by sight what 1/4 remaining looks like I used a different measure.
With a candy thermometer I aimed for a lil over 110° then took it off heat.
That was perfect.
Hi! I’ve just made these for a Friendsgiving on Wednesday. How do you suggest storing them in the mean time to maintain freshen? Fridge? Freezer? Thanks!
This is a new go-to potluck recipe for me. Absolute hit and so delicious. I double the recipe for a 9×13 pan and bake a few minute longer, using a toothpick to test doneness. I also replaced about half of the granulated sugar with turbinado sugar in the topping and it adds a lot of great crunchy texture; highly recommend! Watch the apple cider very carefully, it can become apple caramel very quickly. Drizzle some on a surface periodically to see how thick it is once it’s cool.
I’ve made a double batch of this twice already for Friendsgiving and it is THE perfect dessert!
Quick note: for anybody concerned about the cider “jam” mine had a syrupy texture for both batches and it turned out perfect.
Came out perfect yesterday, I’m baking them again right now! Perfect amount of apple flavor and it really compliments the texture of it all!! I would say the first time the syrup didn’t thicken into a jam texture but now that I’m trying today i let it sit for a bit longer and stirred it occasionally it set perfectly. Love this recipe!
Thank you so so much! I am so happy that you liked them.I hear you on the “jam” I think reworking that language on my end might help. Thank you for the feedback 🙂
This was Delicious! Can I freeze these to make ahead?
Hi! I made these for the first time tonight and I meant to take them to work, but I don’t know if it’s going to make it!! So delicious!!
I loved these! My apple cider never became jammy, but the blondies were still delicious.
I made this recipe with a few modifications and it turned out delicious! The recipe calls for 200g of brown sugar, but when I weighed it out, that seemed like WAY more than one cup so I reduced it to 150g. The recipe fit for me into a standard size muffin tin (twelve muffin cups) but I did use the papery type of liners. Used about 1/3 the amount of topping (eyeballed it) and it was perfect. They’re delicious and have a strong apple cider taste, not overly sweet which I prefer. Highly recommend 🙂
This recipe is AMAZING!!! The perfect apple cider donut flavor. I’ve made these at least 5 times and never had any problems. The apple cider reduces well on higher heats and I find t really doesn’t need much babysitting. Two notes: (1) you definitely do not need that much sugar topping. I usually half the sugar topping and still have leftover sugar. You might could even quarter the amount. (2) they’re pretty rich so I like to freeze half.
Another thing – I tried reducing the apple cider ahead of time once and it turned into a jelly that stayed in chunks when I tried to mix it in. Don’t reduce it beforehand. You have to use the reduced apple cider fresh.
These sound amazing! I don’t have an 8×8 pan, however… do you think they would work in muffin tins??
Thank you!
Have made 4 batches of these in 24 hours, seriously such a hit! Thanks for the recipe.
I have made these before as written and loved them! I wanted to make them for my gf/vegan friends, so I used vegan eggs (JUST egg), gf flour (Cup for Cup brand), and vegan butter (Trader Joe’s), and they came out just as well! Just wanted to share my tweaks in case there are any gf/vegan people out there!
These are phenomenal! Reducing the cider took longer than anticipated (approx. 50 mins), but when it finally gets to the point of a syrup, it happens very quickly. At the suggestion of another commenter, I added apple butter into the batter as well, but I did 2 tablespoons because I wanted that extra boost of apple. I didn’t have any problems with the additional moisture. I baked in a glass dish and it did take longer, but only about 5 minutes. Overall, this recipe is very simple to follow and makes such a wonderful autumnal dessert! It’s definitely going in my yearly rotation.
I made it today and it was delicious!! I added maple mini marshmallows in the batter and it made it so much more delicious!
These were absolutely incredible! Got amazing reviews from family. Followed the recipe but as another comment mentioned mine had to bake for almost double the amount of time suggested! Perhaps the recipe author bakes in a metal pan? I only have a glass 8×8 pan and usually glass does require longer bake times than metal.
Hi Caryn! I am so so happy that you liked them. I will definitely go back and examine the time. Glass does tend to take longer than metal when it comes to baking but double is quite a while. I am so glad they came out well!
I made them and they came out great! It was very easy to make. I ended up using 1/2 tbsp of apple butter because my cider reduction didn’t come up as strong as I thought it would (used Trader Joe’s organic cider). That last step really helped the apple flavor to come through
Tried reducing the apple cider and never ended up with a jam, instead it turned into a thick, sticky syrup that stuck to the pan and spatula. Tried to mix it in anyway to see what would happen and it just clumped into a weird hard caramel-like ball. Had to toss 🙁
10/10 my favorite bake of 2025 — browned my butter and added a little salt and they are absolutely perfect.
Made this and it has so much flavor. I used some fresh organic apple cider and took a while to cook down because I made this recipe x4, because I had so much faith it was gonna be good and it was!
Can’t wait to try these! Do you think they would work with a 1:1 gluten free flour? Or AP is best?
I made a caramel apple version with caramel chips for a party and it was exactly as I dreamed. 10/10 base recipe!!
that sounds absolutely divine!!!!
Flavor wise, I liked this recipe. It’s super sweet, but I think it was too small a quantity to be cooked in an 8×8 pan. It’s way too thin.
Would love to make this for a crowd- using a sheet pan- thoughts on amounts for recipe??
Could apple butter be used as a replacement for the apple cider reduction?
Hmm.. I have not tried that so I am not sure. My first thought is that it will add alot more liquid and produce a potentially “cakey” blondie. Although, it could still be delicious. Let me know if you do try it!
So good. Everyone loves them.
Tried making apple cider jam as directed and wound up with a thick, sticky syrup At no point was it jam-like
Made this as the recipe stated and it’s amazing!
Quick question – can the sugar topping be reduced and not impact the bake at all? I assume yes, but not sure I wanna risk a batch by trying.
Yes! Absolutely. If you wish to put less (or more 😂 ) it won’t impact the bake! It may take bit of that apple cider doughnut feel away!
delish
I made these as directed. They were delicious!
These were amazing! Gooey and delicious! Did have to bake for quite a bit longer than what the recipe called for, but they turned out amazing. Will be a fall staple!
You helped me a lot by posting this article and I love what I’m learning.
Thanks for posting. I really enjoyed reading it, especially because it addressed my problem. It helped me a lot and I hope it will help others too.
Thanks for posting. I really enjoyed reading it, especially because it addressed my problem. It helped me a lot and I hope it will help others too.
tried this myself and they came out perfect! 10/10
My coworker made these for our happy hour and they were RIDICULOUSLY good. Honestly best fall recipes I’ve ever had. Imagine an apple pie with the texture of a gooey brownie.
I have a favorite cider mill that I’m going to this weekend, but the cider they make is less sweet than a lot of others. Is it worth paying the money for the cider to make these or would they be better with a normal grocery store cider? Very excited to try these
Grocery store cider is still fantastic for these! Up to you!
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Just had my first little taste test on my first batch of these. The flavor is incredible, like homemade apple cider caramels. Wondering though, mine did not rise, like I don’t think they had any rise to them at all. Is that normal or did I do something wrong?
hey! I just made these myself a few hours ago. Typically if they don’t rise it’s due to the baking powder. If it’s too old/outdated it loses properties that would help the batter rise. Hope this helps!
You can try to reduce the apple juice like the cider! I have not tried it to I am not sure how it would be. Let me know if you try!