Sugar Coma

Are you ready for the big fright night tomorrow? Less than 24 hours until it's finally Halloween, when children everywhere will be hopped up on sugary treats; and parents will be counting the minutes until bed time so they can raid the candy bags. (Don't deny it. You know you do it!! We all do!) But in case you're worried there won't be enough sugar in your house, I've got a great sweet treat for you today.

My blogging buddy Stacey over at Southern Bite posted these a few weeks back when I was desperately trying to find ways to use up the rest of the apples we picked at the orchard. (If you didn't see our adventure, you can read all about it here.) I only had a few left in the bushel basket, and I knew I wanted to bake something. These were just what I was looking for. But then my sweet tooth (teeth) got the best of me, and I decided to take them to the next level with a maple glaze.

Why? Because I could. Because it's fall, and apples, pecans and maple scream autumn to me. Because I'm an icing/frosting/glaze freak. Because I had 2 boxes of powdered sugar in the pantry calling my name. The reason doesn't matter. What matters is these are absolutely decadent, rich and delicious. Plan on only eating one, because after a few bites, you will be in a sugar induced coma, with a big smile on your face.

Now, to be fair, I did leave a couple "bare" when I made them so my family could enjoy them with or without the glaze, and they were delicious as is. But the glaze just put them over the top for me.

Need a dessert full of fall flavors (try saying that 3 times fast) tonight? Craving a little extra sugar? Have some apples to use? Looking for any excuse to make these you can find? Go ahead. The kids are going to get their candy. You can have these!

Apple Pecan Blondies with Maple Glaze Inspired by Southern Bite
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 stick butter, at room temp
1 egg
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
2 apples, cored, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 c. pecans, chopped

Glaze:
1 c. powdered sugar
2 TBS milk
1 1/2 tsp. maple extract

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl cream butter and sugar. Add egg and mix well. (I used my electric mixer.) In another bowl combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Whisk well. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Mix well. Fold in apples and pecans. Batter will be thick and sticky. Scoop batter into a greased 8x8 baking pan. Spread evenly with a spatula. Bake for 45 minutes until golden, and a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. In a small bowl combine ingredients for glaze. Mix well. When blondies are cool, cut into 9 bars. Dip each into glaze, covering top. Transfer to wire rack (I set mine was wax paper for easy clean up) to set. When set, sprinkle with powdered sugar. I like to refrigerate any leftovers so the glaze continues and stays hardened.

Shared on The Country Cook November 1, 2013

Maple at Very Good Recipes