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Soft and gooey, Cinnamon Swirl Snickerdoodle Blondies. Made with nutty browned butter, salted apple butter, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Then mixed with chunks of cinnamon that melt into wonderful swirls. Just before baking, sprinkle the blondies with a little cinnamon sugar for that classic Snickerdoodle finish. And the true secret here? Sweet apple butter. It’s what keeps these blondies incredibly flavorful, soft, gooey, salty, and so delicious. Great to bake throughout the holiday season!
I’m probably about to annoy many of you, but I’ve entered into my happy, excited holiday cooking and baking zone. These are the recipes I LOVE the most all year long. I work so hard to share only the most special ones each and every season. So I’m jumping up and down with excitement to share these!
And these cookies! Or blondies!! I love them. A mix between a chewy, sweet Snickerdoodle and a thick blondie bar.
Perfect for Thanksgiving, or for packing up to fill this year’s holiday cookie boxes!
The details
Step 1: make the cinnamon swirl
This swirl is what makes these blondies so special. It’s just brown sugar mixed with butter and cinnamon. Exactly what you’d roll a cinnamon roll up with.
Now crumble the cinnamon into chunks and then freeze. It’s not fancy at all, but adds a sweetness that’s unique and special to this cookie.
Step 2: make the cookie dough
While the chunks freeze, make the cookies.
Start by browning the butter. This gives you the flavor of browned butter and leaves you with a cookie that has great texture too. Shocker, I know, I added browned butter, but it makes the cookies just that much better.
It’s worth the extra step.
Then add brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix together, and add the dry ingredients – flour, baking soda, and salt.
Step 3: swirl and bake.
At this point, the cinnamon chunks should be frozen and ready to use. Mix them into the cookie dough and spread the dough out into a baking dish. In classic Snickerdoodle form, sprinkle the top of the dough with cinnamon sugar.
I do a light sprinkle. I didn’t want the bars to be overly sweet. Bake them up until they are barely set on the edges and gooey in the center. A little underdone is best!
Step 4: slice, eat, and enjoy!
Not a traditional blondie bar, but so much better! The result is a perfectly chewy, gingery, blondie with rich notes of cinnamon and vanilla.
We couldn’t love these easy snickerdoodles more. The cinnamon swirl really makes them special. Hope you guys love these just as much as I do!
Looking for Christmas cookie recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Chewy Frosted Cinnamon Swirl Snickerdoodles
Easy Slice ‘n’ Bake Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies
Chewy Brown Butter Pretzel Pecan Cookies
Soft Gingerbread Latte Cookies with Brown Butter Icing
Lastly, if you make these Cinnamon Swirl Snickerdoodle Blondies be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Brown Butter Cinnamon Swirl Snickerdoodle Blondies
Servings: 24 bars
Calories Per Serving: 217 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Cinnamon Swirl
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
blondies
- 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup ) salted butter
- 1/4 cup apple butter or maple
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup cinnamon sugar
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9×13 inch baking dish with parchment paper.2. To make the cinnamon swirl. In a bowl, mix the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Line a small baking sheet with parchment. Crumble/tear the cinnamon mix over the baking sheet, creating small chunks. Freeze for 10 minutes, until firm.3. To make the snickerdoodles. Add the butter to a skillet set over medium heat. Allow the butter to brown until it smells toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Pour the brown butter into a mixing bowl. 4. To the butter, add the brown sugar, apple butter, egg, and vanilla, Beat until combined. Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Fold in the chocolate chips and 2/3 rds of the cinnamon chunks. 5. Spread the dough into the prepared dish. Press the remaining cinnamon chunks into the dough. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over. Bake for 20-22 minutes, until the edges are just setting and the center is still doughy. Let cool6. Cut into bars, snack, and enjoy!
These are what I wished chocolate chip cookies tasted like when I was a kid. Always disappointed with cookies until this recipe! So good! Perfect flavor. In love.
Hey Farien,
Awesome! Thanks so much for making this recipe and your feedback! So glad it was enjoyed! Have a great autumn Friday! Xx
I really liked these as a unique flavor! I won’t argue about whether or not they are snickerdoodles but I will be making them again. I only changed two things: left off the final sprinkle of cinnamon sugar as I did not think it was needed and baked it for 50 minutes. I knew my oven would require longer and they turned out the perfect texture of soft and chewy. They stayed great for a week and the apple butter gave a wonderful fall aroma. The touch of chocolate also made it a keeper for me!
Hey Chris,
Fantastic! So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you! xx
The flavor is good, but you are making cookie dough. It is not chewy, it is soft and falls apart. It would be good on ice cream to lower the extreme sweetness, but it is not a bar or cookie, it is dough that doesn’t harden with cooking. Not presentable, but would be good as a topping. It is very mushy! So if you are a fan of cookie dough this might be your cup of tea. Not mine. I will probably eat a few with ice cream and throw the rest out.
Hi Paula,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed. Were they just too raw? Let me know if I can help in anyway! xT
Could I sub Pumpkin puree for the apple butter/maple?
Hi Twila,
Sure, I don’t see why that wouldn’t work for you! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
How many carbs in snickerdoodle blondies?
Hi Angel,
So sorry, I do not have that info at this time. Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xT
My bars taste great but barely rose. What did I do wrong? Or is this how they’re supposed to be? Thanks
Hey Kathy,
Wonderful!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a lot for making it! These definitely aren’t super thick:) Xx
Directions apple butter or maple (what). Please explain
Hi Cheryl,
You can use apple butter or maple syrup for this recipe. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Made these tonight and they are amazing!!
Thank you SO much for trying out this recipe Becky! xT
Sorry one more, my chocolate chips and butter chunky melted when I folded them in. Should I let the brown butter cook longer in the future?
Hi these only rose about an inch or a little over for me. Is that correct?
Hi Tieghan, I’m getting ready to make a batch of these tomorrow and to say I’m excited would be an understatement. Before I do so, is there anything you would do differently with them than when you first posted this recipe?
Delicious recipe! The kitchen smelled AMAZING!! Made this for my 18-year old daughter and her girlfriends. The literally swooned when they walked in the door! 🙂
Hi there! I’m so glad that you’re enjoying the recipe! Thanks for giving it a try! xT
sub for the apple or maple butter? or ok to skip that ingredient?
I love that this is 9×13 and smart idea to freeze the swirl. im making tonight for my husband to take to his work for Christmas lunch.
I made these and now my son requested them for his birthday dessert. I am excited to make them again.
Love to hear this, Kellie! Thanks so much for making this recipe:) xT
So good! Should these be stored on the counter or in the fridge? Thanks!
Hi Maddie! I would just store on the counter! xT
What is the cinnamon to sugar ratio for the top ?