Apple Butter Bars with Browned Butter
Rich, soft and chewy apple butter bars with browned butter and a cinnamon browned butter glaze. Just amazing.
Servings: 12 squares
Calories: 466kcal
Equipment
- 1 9x9 inch square baking dish, silicone, glass or metal
- 1 whisk
- 1 spatula, rubber or wooden
- 1 mixing bowl optional (for the Spiced Apple Topping)
- 1 medium saucepan optional (for the Spiced Apple Topping)
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (see Note 1)
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg, dried or freshly grated
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 large eggs room temperature (see Note 2)
- 1 ½ cups dark brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup apple butter, homemade or store-bought (see Note 3)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Cinnamon Vanilla Glaze
- 1 tbsp reserved browned butter
- ⅓ cup icing sugar
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp apple butter, optional
- Pinch salt
- 1-2 tbsp milk (see Note 4)
Spiced Apples (Optional)
- 2 apples, peeled, cored and diced
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- ¾ tsp cinnamon
Instructions
Spiced Apples
- If you're including the spiced apple topping, make it first (or while your butter browns), then set it aside while you make your browned butter and the batter; if you're skipping the apple topping, skip this section and proceed with the steps below
- In a medium bowl, combine the peeled and diced apples, brown sugar and cinnamon
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat then add the apples
- Cook the apples over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until they are beginning to soften then set them aside to cool
Browned Apple Butter Batter
- In a large saucepan over low heat, melt the butter; whisk the butter when it has fully melted (make sure the heat is cranked almost all the way down to the lowest setting)
- Allow the butter to toast slowly over low heat, about 15-20 minutes, until it's a dark, golden brown color and you can see visible milk solids in the butter; whisk or swirl the pan occasionally to ensure no milk solids get stuck (see Note 5)
- Set the browned butter aside for at least 10 minutes to cool and reserve around 1 tbsp for the glaze; the butter will have reduced to just over ¾ cup after browning so any amount above the ¾ cup line on a measuring cup can be reserved for the glaze
- Gather the rest of your equipment and ingredients and preheat your oven to 325℉/170℃; line a 9x9 inch square baking dish with parchment paper that overhangs on one side to make removing the bars easier
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and set aside
- In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, apple butter and vanilla extract until smooth; add in the cooled brown butter and whisk again until combined (see Note 3)
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix with a spatula until just combined, but do not overmix (stop mixing as soon as you can no longer see flour)
- Transfer the batter to the prepared baking dish and spread evenly; if using the Spiced Apple Topping, spread them evenly on top of the batter
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
Cinnamon Vanilla Glaze
- While the bars are in the oven, make the glaze: in a small bowl, whisk together the reserved brown butter, icing sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract, apple butter and salt; the mixture will be very thick
- Add the milk, one tablespoon at a time, until a pourable consistency is reached
- Once the bars have fully cooled, drizzle them with the glaze; allow the glaze to harden for 2-3 minutes then cut into squares and serve
Notes
1. If you really don't feel like browning butter, you can substitute it with melted, unsalted butter. You'll need to reduce the amount to ¾ cup, because the butter reduces when browning and the recipe requires ¾ cup of liquid, browned butter. The bars will still be delicious, but they'll lose a lot of their rich, nutty flavor.
2. Room temperature eggs are ideal because you don't want the eggs to cook at all when they're mixed with the browned butter. If your eggs are cold, don't worry; either just leave them in warm (not hot) water for 5 minutes, or make sure your browned butter is well cooled. Mixing the other wet ingredients first then adding the browned butter after also helps here.
3. It seems apple butter can sometimes be tricky to find. You can find some in certain grocery stores or on Amazon, but you could also make about 3 batches of my homemade Apple Butter for the same price.
4. Whole milk will always be the best option when baking as it helps create a nice, rich taste. However, any type of milk will do just fine in this recipe, including plant or dairy-free milks.
5. Be patient when browning the butter. Leaving it on the lowest heat setting on your stovetop ensures it doesn't burn and you don't have to stir it constantly. Just swirl the pan every few minutes, and if you see any milk solids starting to stick to the bottom, give it a mix with a whisk or spatula to get those tasty bits back into the liquid butter.
Nutrition Facts are calculated automatically and could be inaccurate.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 square | Calories: 466kcal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 75mg | Sodium: 143mg | Potassium: 143mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 49g | Vitamin A: 621IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 64mg | Iron: 2mg