Brown Butter Blondies//Caramel Apple Swirl//Cardamom Cream Cheese Swirl//Brown Sugar Cinnamon Swirl//A cross between blondies + sticky toffee pudding bars.
These Triple Swirl Brown Butter Blondies are a delightful twist on Sarah Kieffer's beloved cinnamon roll blondies, which have long been a favourite of mine. Inspired by the cozy, spiced flavours of autumn, I decided to give her recipe a fall makeover. While the base remains faithful to Sarah's original (however I increased the thickness by 50%, with a few other minor tweaks), I added a few personal touches to elevate the flavours even more. These blondies are topped with a homemade caramel apple swirl, a cardamon cream cheese swirl, and a brown sugar cinnamon swirl.
The introduction of freshly-ground cardamom to the cream cheese swirl adds a layer of flavour complexity and spice that makes these blondies feel truly special. I wanted something to compliment but also elevate the cinnamon so that it wasn’t just one note, and boy was this the perfect call. But I didn't stop there—I wanted something that would capture the essence of autumn even further, so I swirled in a homemade caramel with apples, transforming these blondies into something completely new and unexpected. Why do I say that? Well, by total accident, the caramel baked into the blondies altered their texture entirely. A happy “oopsie”! What emerged from the oven was more akin to a spiced apple sticky toffee pudding bar than a traditional blondie. They are unbelievably gooey, sweet, and nuanced in texture, with the caramel forming a deliciously crisp crust on top. These blondies are warm, comforting, and perfectly spiced for the season—a true indulgence that celebrates the flavours of fall in every bite.
Now, if you want a less sticky, more classically moist and chewy blondie, you can check out my Cardamom + Rhubarb Brown Butter Blondies. So unbelievably good. You can tell, I really do love my (freshly ground only!) cardamom. It just makes everything taste so special. Or you can keep this recipe as written, just minus the caramel, and mix the diced apples directly into the blondie batter before pouring into the baking tray. In this case, be mindful to bake the blondies for less time (bake them for 36-37 minutes). Alternatively, you can stick true to Sarah’s original vision, and omit the caramel and apples. You can keep my addition of the cardamom or not. When I make them the classic cinnamon bun way, I top them with a white chocolate drizzle for a nice added texture (measurements and instructions here). This version with the caramel is too sweet to handle the added chocolate, I feel! Of course, you could always experiment with decreasing the amount of sugar in the caramel and cream cheese swirl, to allow for the white chocolate drizzle…anyway, enough with the sidebar!
That said, what I love about this recipe is that it can make for a proper plated dessert—serve the bars warmed up with a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream overtop, and you have yourself a very impressive and indulgent dessert that perfectly captures the cozy, spiced essence of autumn.
Recipe:
Makes 1 9 x 13-inch tray
This recipe is an autumnal adaptation of Sarah Kieffer’s Cinnamon Roll Blondies recipe from her wonderful book “100 Cookies”. Full credit to her for the base recipe and inspiration. More info in the foreword.
Notes
Using fresh cardamom pods is absolutely essential! It’s ground using a mortar and pestle. The flavour is bolder and infinitely more fragrant that the pre-ground stuff.
I specify the type of salt used, as different salts are more or less salty than others. If you don’t have the same kind of salt used, be mindful of this and adjust accordingly. Generally speaking, pink Himalayan salt is less salty than most others.
Use any variety of apples that you have on hand. As for the dice, I like to do a variety of sizes—some tiny, some more of a mouthful. But you do you.
Some different version options: if you want a less sticky, more classically moist and chewy blondie, you can keep this recipe as written, just minus the caramel, and mix the diced apples directly into the blondie batter before pouring into the baking tray. In this case, be mindful to bake the blondies for less time (bake them for 36-37 minutes)—and top them with a white chocolate drizzle once cooled (measurements and instructions here). Alternatively, you can stick true to Sarah’s original vision, and omit both the caramel and apples. You can keep my addition of the cardamom or not. When I make them the classic cinnamon bun way, I also top them with a white chocolate drizzle for a nice added texture (measurements and instructions here). This version with the caramel is too sweet to handle the added chocolate, I feel! Of course, you could always experiment with decreasing the amount of sugar in the caramel and cream cheese swirl, to allow for the white chocolate drizzle.
Salted Caramel + Apples
Ingredients
45 g full-fat cream, any temperature
80 g sugar
65 g cold butter, cubed
1/8 + 1/16 tsp salt (pink Himalayan)
200 g apples, small dice (250 g if you want a ton)
Optional: 1/4 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
Pour the cream into a small saucepan, set over low heat. You will be using it in about 5 minutes, and you want it to be hot.
Place the sugar in a medium saucepan, set over medium heat. Don’t touch it until the edges are beginning to melt. At this point, stir fairly continuously until all of the sugar has dissolved.
Whisk in the butter, 1-2 cubes at a time.
Slowly pour in the cream, whisking continuously, about 2 tbsp at a time.
Whisk in the salt.
Pour the caramel into a medium-large sized bowl to cool and thicken.
You’re going to move onto the next steps now, but when you see that the caramel has thickened enough to swirl, come back here and fold in the apples (do NOT add the apples in straight out of the saucepan; the super hot caramel will cause the apple juices to release, which will cause the caramel to not set). If you feel like a super strong cinnamon flavour in these bars, feel free to first toss the apples in some cinnamon (1/4 tsp should do).
Cardamom Cream Cheese Swirl
Ingredients
115 g cream cheese, room temperature preferably
15 small cardamom pods (10 if you want it mild)
65 g sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt (pink Himalayan)
Instructions
Cut open the cardamom pods and finely grind using a mortar and pestle.
Place cream cheese and ground cardamom in a medium bowl, and beat on high speed with an electric mixer for 2 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients, and beat on high for another 30 seconds.
Leave at room temperature until ready to use.
Cinnamon Sugar Swirl
Ingredients
30 g butter, room temperature
75 g brown sugar
1 1/2 tbsp cinnamon (not packed)
1/8 tsp salt (pink Himalayan)
Instructions
Place butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan, set over medium-low heat. Stir often until the butter is melted and mixed in.
Turn off the heat, and mix in the cinnamon and salt.
Leave the saucepan on the (turned off) burner until ready to use. *I find if you take it off the burner, it cools down too much before you're ready to use it, and the mixture hardens, which obviously won't swirl properly. I have good luck this way, but if yours ever hardened a touch anyway, just lightly re-heat it before using.
Brown Butter Blondies
Ingredients
345 g butter, any temperature
300 g brown sugar
300 g white sugar
2 1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 tsp salt (pink Himalayan)
425 g all-purpose flour
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
3 eggs, cold
6 egg yolks, cold
Instructions
Grease a 9 by 13 inch baking tray and line it with parchment paper.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place 255 g of the butter in a medium sized saucepan. Brown the butter over medium heat. (If you don’t know how to do this: cook, stirring occasionally for about 7 minutes, until the butter is a caramel colour and smells nutty.)
Once ready, immediately remove the saucepan from the heat, and whisk in the remaining 90 g of butter.
Whisk in the brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla extract, and salt.
Leave this aside to cool, while you tend to the remaining ingredients.
Sift flour and baking powder into a large bowl.
Whisk eggs and egg yolks into the butter-sugar mixture. [The idea is that the cold eggs will cool the mixture down to room temperature (to avoid waiting for it to come to room temperature naturally).]
Pour butter-sugar-egg mixture into the flour mixture. Stir together with a spatula.
Pour the batter into the parchment-lined baking tray. Evenly spread using a spatula.
Dollop the cardamom cream cheese mixture overtop.
Dollop the cinnamon sugar swirl overtop.
Spoon the caramel-coated diced apples overtop.
Create swirls using a butter knife.
Bake for 45 minutes. If you desire a more cake-like texture, bake for 50 minutes. [Please note once again that the caramel drastically changes the texture of these blondies, making them more so resemble sticky toffee pudding bars! And this affects the bake time. If you have omitted the caramel for any reason, rather bake the blondies for 36-37 minutes. This is very important!]
Remove from oven, and let cool completely in tin before removing.
Cut into squares and enjoy! The bars should be eaten at room temperature (or close to!), or you can even heat them up. I find with how gooey they are due to the caramel, having them cold from the fridge feels too under-done/dense. I highly recommend topping them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream if you want to go full-out and treat them like a proper sticky toffee pudding for dessert! YUM.
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