Maple Glazed Apple Blondies

It’s fall and I love baking with apples. We have a good quantity of maple syrup at home, too, so I try to find recipes that include both. I have had these bars pinned for a while, and finally I can make them! I don’t always have apples on hand, but I was able to get a couple of apples that I knew I could use for this exact recipe.

The original recipe calls for a 7” x 11” pan, and I don’t think I have a pan that size. I’m in the middle of moving some cupboards around in the kitchen, so I’ll be honest that I didn’t look very much. When I don’t have the specific pan, I find a different pan that has roughly the same area, so a 9” square pan was close. Despite using a slightly larger pan, I was surprised that these cookies were as thick as they were.

These blondies are very cake-like, but that’s ok. Somehow the soft, cakey texture makes these taste that much better! When you are shaping the blondies, it is quite challenging to spread the dough. I used my hands (somewhat damp hands), and even that was a challenge as the dough is so sticky. Perhaps the dough needed to be refrigerated a short time to make it less sticky, but I didn’t have time to do that. I think that these are just about the best cookies for fall that I have made in a long time!

Maple Glazed Apple Blondies
2 large apples, peeled and finely chopped
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
About 1 cup powdered sugar

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” square pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

Make the apple filling: in a medium saucepan, combine the apples, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and cinnamon. Cook on medium-low for 4-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool for 10 minutes.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Mix on medium until light. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla and salt. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon.

Divide the dough into halves; press half of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan, using your hands to ensure even coverage. Top with the apple filling. Top the bars with the remaining dough, piecing the dough together to create a full top layer.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the bars are golden and test clean with a cake tester. Allow the bars to cool before making the glaze.

Make the glaze: in a small microwaveable bowl, combine the butter, maple syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon, microwaving and stirring until the butter is melted. Remove from the microwave and whisk in about ¾ cup powdered sugar. Allow the glaze to set and thicken for about 10 minutes. If the glaze is still too thin, whisk in additional powdered sugar. Top the bars with the maple glaze, spreading the glaze evenly. Allow the glaze to completely set before removing from the pan and cutting into bars.

Recipe from A Latte Food

Cashew Toffee Cookies

After making the toffee cashew cookies and then a gluten free variation, I realized that both versions contained chocolate! I needed to make a chocolate free version, and I wasn’t sure quite what to do. I could have made the browned butter toffee cashew cookies and left out the chocolate chips, but I did have this recipe that didn’t call for chocolate, so I went with this one. I didn’t have quite a full cup of cashews and probably didn’t have quite enough toffee bits, but it was close. For the chocolate-free version, make sure you use the toffee bits that don’t have chocolate (usually called English toffee bits).

These again were easy to make, and the slight variation in the quantity of cashews and toffee bits didn’t seem to make a difference. I have never made a recipe that called for 1-1/8 cups flour, so that was certainly different. The recipe asks that you refrigerate the dough for several hours or overnight, and I didn’t have time to do that. I chilled the dough for about an hour, and hoped for the best.

My cookies did brown a bit more than expected and they spread some, which I think is likely because they didn’t get as chilled as they needed to be. I have thought of making another batch, refrigerating the dough more appropriately, but I’m not sure I will get to that. Probably not! While I would have liked these to look a little better, the flavors were lovely and it’s hard to go wrong with cashews and toffee, and you don’t notice at all that there’s no chocolate.

Cashew Toffee Cookies
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 1/8 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup toffee bits
1 cup chopped cashews

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter and brown sugar. Mix on medium until light, then stir in the vanilla and egg. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Fold in the toffee bits and chopped cashews with a spatula.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Using a cookie scoop, scoop the dough into the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden. Cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Small Town Woman

Gluten Free Almond Flour Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies

The next cookie that I made, related to last week’s cashew toffee cookies, was a gluten free cookie. It isn’t quite the same, but I wanted to have something similar to the chocolate chips of the other cookie. When I am making gluten free cookies, I look for recipes that inherently have no flour, something that uses almond paste, almond flour, cocoa powder or similar. The measure-for-measure gluten free flour mixes are fine, but can add an extra flavor that I don’t always want. These use almond flour; perfect.

I do have special measuring cups that I use for gluten free baking, and I use disposable parchment instead of a silicone baking mat, to help lessen the likelihood of cross contamination. It’s not perfect but I try to be careful. At the store these days it isn’t too difficult to find “free from” chocolate chips that have no dairy, gluten, soy, etc. I always try to keep those on hand. I did make these dairy free as well, using vegan butter.

Gluten free baking is different, and you are never going to get dough that is super cohesive. Shaping these you must be careful, as they don’t form into a perfect ball but you can get pretty close. They do spread some, very common with gluten free cookie. I have a spatula ready when they come out of the oven to coax them back into shape if needed. These cookies are a bit fragile, but the chewiness and mix of flavors overcomes that! These are very tasty and perfect for those with particular food avoidance.

Gluten Free Almond Flour Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies
½ cup butter (or vegan butter), room temperature
½ cup sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ¾ cups almond flour
½ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1½ cups gluten free rolled oats
1 cup (or more) “free from” dark chocolate chips or chunks

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter/vegan butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Mix on medium until light. Add the egg and vanilla and stir too combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the almond flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix just until a dough starts to form. With a spatula, fold in the oats and chocolate chips.

Shape the dough into 1-1/2” balls and place on the parchment-lined baking sheets. The cookies may spread so only put 8 cookies per baking sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden. The cookies will be soft but will set somewhat while cooling. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet before removing to cool completely.

Recipe from Lemons and Zest

Browned Butter Toffee Cashew Chocolate Chip Cookies

It’s back to school time and for our opening meeting at work I try to make different cookies that fit different dietary restrictions. These cookies are the original inspiration, full of dairy, gluten, and chocolate. As this was the starting point, I also made a gluten free cookie that was somewhat similar. I felt so accomplished having made two types of cookies, and then I realized I needed a chocolate-free cookie, so I made a cookie similar to this one with no chocolate.

These cookies are also inspired by my lack of chocolate chip cookie making. My husband complains about this, and there are only so many variations of a chocolate chip cookie that I can come up with. These are different, with the browned butter, and the addition of cashews and toffee chips. I’m never sure if browning the butter changes the flavor a lot, but I think it does. As always, watch your butter carefully when it is on the stove, as it can burn easily.

These cookies aren’t so different from chocolate chip cookies, and browning the butter is the only step that takes a touch longer. There’s no chilling, which is helpful when you are making several different varieties! I used toffee chips that contained chocolate, as they also contained chocolate chips, but you can use anything you have on hand. I love cashews and they add a lovely sweetness, and toffee adds a buttery flavor that is hard to resist.

Browned Butter Toffee Cashew Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 3/4 cups flour
1 cup salted cashews, chopped
3/4 cup toffee bits
1 1/4 cups chocolate chips

In a small saucepan, heat the butter over medium low heat. Melt the butter, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter begins to brown and starts to become nutty. Transfer the butter to a small dish and cool for 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the cooled butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat on medium until combined, then stir in the eggs, vanilla, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer running on low, slowly add the flour, stirring until the mixture is almost cohesive. Fold in the cashews, toffee bits, and chocolate chips.

Using a 1-1/2 tablespoon scoop, shape the dough into mounds on the prepared baking sheet. Place 8 balls of dough on each baking sheet, as the cookies may spread.

Bake the cookies for 8 minutes, then rotate the cookie sheet and bake for an additional 4 minutes. The cookies may be ever so slightly under baked, but they will firm up as they cool. If necessary, use a small spatula to reshape the cookies into rounds.

Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Cookies and Cups

Maple Molasses Cookies

We have a fairly large quantity of maple syrup in the house, and it is finally the season to find maple recipes! I’m not 100% back at work yet, but I will be before you know it thus it is time for fall baking. I have so many ideas, more ideas than there are weeks in the fall, but I will make it work somehow.

While I have made a couple different maple cookies, I am still finding new recipes to try. I wanted to make something with molasses, and I initially was going to use that recipe. It contained oats, that I wanted to use, but I need to do some editing as it was created for high altitude, plus I want to incorporate maple syrup in addition to maple extract. That will come soon!

These don’t contain oats, but do contain molasses, ginger, and nutmeg, so my house smelled amazing while these were baking. I used slightly less than 1 teaspoon maple extract, but fairly close. The maple flavor increases as they age, although I don’t think mine will last long! I made my own icing recipe, since I just wanted powdered sugar and maple syrup. I did need to add some milk or it would have been too thick. These are a perfect fall cookie, with the flavors of home and just a hint of sweetness.

Maple Molasses Cookies
2-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup butter, room temperature
¼ cup sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
¼ cup molasses
1 teaspoon maple extract

1 ½ cups powdered sugar
About 2 tablespoons milk
About 2 tablespoons maple syrup

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, and nutmeg; set aside.  In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium until light. Add the egg and mix again on medium. Stir in the molasses and maple extract, mixing until all of the ingredients are incorporated.

With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture, stirring just until the dough comes together. If needed, stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing.

Scoop the dough into the prepared baking sheet, using about 1-1/2 tablespoons dough per cookie.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the bottom begins to brown but are still puffy. The cookies will deflate slightly as they cool. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cookies are cool, drizzle with icing: in a medium bowl combine the powdered sugar and a tablespoon of milk and a tablespoon of maple syrup. Whisk until the icing comes together, adding more milk and maple syrup as needed. The maple syrup adds flavor, but is thick so the milk helps thin the icing as needed. Drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies and allow the icing to set before serving.

Recipe from But First We Brunch

Mini Treacle Tarts

I love making cookies in mini muffin cups, and when I came across this recipe, I knew that it was meant to be. I think I have had a treacle tart before, but I’m not absolutely sure. This is a smaller version, quite simple to make once you get past the somewhat fussy stage of shaping the dough into mini muffin cups. I divide the dough and then use a tart tamper to help coax the dough into the proper shape. It isn’t perfect, but I end up only having to do the smallest of adjustment to the dough by hand.

These are treacle tarts, but the main ingredient is golden syrup. Golden syrup is also called light treacle, but that’s still confusing. I get a lot of questions about what can be used instead of golden syrup. Golden syrup is sugar cane based, whereas corn syrup is corn based, so they are different. Honey isn’t a bad option, and I did end up having to use a tiny bit of honey to make up a cup of golden syrup. It’s still not the same, so if you can find golden syrup at the store, it is best to use that.

You add a small quantity of breadcrumbs to give the filling some structure, so don’t skip that step. It was odd for me as I hadn’t used breadcrumbs in ages and in one week, I ended up making two recipes that needed them! Lemon is the predominant flavor of these tarts, with a subtle flavor of the golden syrup added in. You can top these with a dollop of whipped cream on top, but they were so good they didn’t need that!


Mini Treacle Tarts

10 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup almond meal
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup golden syrup
1 tablespoon butter
1 egg
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/8 cup breadcrumbs

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium until light. Add the egg and mix again to combine. In a separate bowl combine the flour, almond meal, salt, and baking powder. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture until a dough forms. Remove the dough from the bowl, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 2 hours (or overnight).

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Have a 24-indentation mini muffin pan ready.

Divide the dough between the 24 mini muffin cups. Press the dough into the cup, making sure that the bottom and sides are covered.
In a small saucepan over low heat, warm the golden syrup. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Once the butter is melted, allow the mixture to cool for 5 minutes. In a small mixing bowl, whisk the egg and heavy cream. Add the syrup mixture, lemon zest and juice, and breadcrumbs, mixing well. Transfer the filling to a vessel with a pouring spout.

Fill each dough cup about half full, any more than that and they will overflow.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the tarts are golden. Allow the tarts to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing the tartlets and cooling completely on a wire rack.

Recipe from International Desserts Blog

Chocolate Covered Hobnobs

I was at home the other day, and the house is getting more temperate and I wanted to bake. I really wanted to make Hobnobs, but I had made those already for the blog. I figured I could make the cookies and make change and that would be different. I did a little searching and found that many Hobnobs are chocolate covered, so I thought I would try that. It made sense, as I have seen chocolate covered Digestive Biscuits and other similar items.

This is the classic Hobnob cookie/biscuit recipe that I have used many times. They are the easiest thing to make and I think that they taste better than the packaged variety. I’m always nervous when I look at the recipe and they bake for quite some time, but you do use a lower oven temperature and it always works out. In this case I made the cookies and let them cool, then topped with chocolate.

I used a small amount of chocolate, perhaps less then 100 grams, as I don’t really measure when I am melting chocolate. I typically have extra, but that’s ok. You melt the chocolate and spoon it on the backs of the Hobnobs, and then you want that to set before you drizzle on additional chocolate. I put the Hobnobs in the refrigerator to set the base layer of chocolate, and that made the process very efficient. These cookies are great with the chocolate, great in their original form, just great overall!

Chocolate Covered Hobnobs
140 grams butter
140 grams sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon golden syrup
140 grams flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
110 grams rolled oats
100 grams chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium until light. Add the milk and golden syrup and mix again on medium. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture and then the oats. Stir just until the mixture comes together.

Shape the dough into 1-1/2 tablespoon balls and place on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 22-25 minutes, until the cookies are light brown. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cookies are cool, place the chocolate and vegetable shortening in a medium bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring frequently, until the chocolate is smooth. Spoon a small amount of melted chocolate on the backs of the cookies and use a small metal spatula to smooth the chocolate over the back of the cookie. Allow the chocolate layer to cool slightly and then drizzle the remaining chocolate over the chocolate layer of the cookies.

Recipe adapted from The English Kitchen