NomNom: Apple Brownies

Happy Friday everyone! I'm so relieved that I have a day off today because I'm a bit stresssssssed. I am hosting a little dinner party for some of my favorite girls tonight and I have much to do. I've been thinking about the menu for a couple of weeks now and finally settled on what to make for dinner (linguine with clams and a baked olive & cheese bread) and dessert. With Fall season upon us, apples and pumpkins are sorta a big deal. As in, too many recipes in your face big deal  My parents recently went to the orchard and brought back bushels of apples and gave a bushel to me too so now I have an influx of apples in my fridge. With that said, I decided to make an apple related dessert for my ladies, naturally. I was debating between apple brownies or an apple crisp and let me tell ya, it was a difficult one. 

I taste tested both of these recipes and kept going back and forth between the two because both were so heavenly. It's like you can taste Fall in your mouth--does that make sense? You're probably thinking I chose apple brownies because I'm posting about it today but actuaaaaaaally I chose the apple crisp. HA! The only deal breaker was that my friend offered to bring some fancy smanchy gourmet ice-cream to add to my warm apple crisp and well, it was a done deal. End of conversation. At the end of the day, the ice-cream won. Story of my life.

These apple brownies are extremely easy to make and so dang good. They're moist in the interior, but have a bit of a firm crust like a brownie, with the taste of apples and walnuts. Oh and let's not forget about the hint of cinnamon. I mean seriously, doesn't that sound like quintessential Fall to you? You can also think of it as getting your daily fruit intake but ahem try not to stare at the butter content in the recipe.

Listen, make this recipe because it will surely not disappoint. When you tell your friends you made apple brownies instead of just brownies, they'll be like, "What? Ohhhh." You know you love those kind of reactions.

Back to cleaning and food prepping for my dinner guests. Have a lovely weekend. Xo.

Ingredients (Adapted from www.beyondkimchee.com) Yields 20-30 bars

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

1 2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups apples (about 2-3 apples), peeled, cored and chopped

1/2 cup chopped walnut

2 cups flour

2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Procedure
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF ( 170ºC).

2. In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Stir in apples and nuts.

3. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Fold into apple mixture.

4. Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean with a few crumbs attached. The top will have subtle cracks.

5. Let it cool before you cut into bars.