Apple Blondies with Brown Sugar Frosting

I saw these blondies on a blog, and just had to buy the book… It’s an Canadian baking book called Bars & Squares by Jill Snider. This book is choc-a-bloc with delicious sounding and great looking baked goods, like blueberry cheesecake bars, coconut chocolate caramel squares and amazing Amaretto brownies.

It was really the frosting that had propelled me kitchen ward, but after I made them it was the fabulous apple blondies that were the star. The frosting gilded the lily, but the brownies could easily stand alone, the apple-y taste was just wonderful! They were even better second day, the frosting settled down and blended with the blondies better, well in my view anyway =)

Thank you to Maria of The Goddesses Kitchen for making the blondies first - see here - and putting me in touch with a new book!

My notes are that I just sifted the icing sugar straight into the pan, see method and I got 24 good sized squares.

Apple Blondies with Brown Sugar Frosting
From Bars & Squares by Jill Snider

Blondies:
2/3 cup butter, softened
2 cups brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch salt
1 cup peeled chopped apples
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Brown Sugar Frosting:
4 oz ½ cup butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
¼ cup milk
2 cups icing (confectioner's) sugar, sifted

Blondies:
Lina a 13 x 9 inch baking tin with baking parchment. Set oven to180oC / 350oF.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla until thick and smooth, about 3 minutes. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture on low speed, mixing until blended. Stir in apples and nuts, mixing well. Spread evenly in the prepared tin and bake until set and golden, 25-30 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on rack.
Brown Sugar Frosting:
In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar and milk. Bring mixture just to a boil then remove from heat and let cool to lukewarm. Sift in the confectioner's sugar, mixing until smooth. Spread evenly over bar. Let stand until frosting is firm enough to cut. Cut into bars or squares.