• Preheat your oven to 350 F. Grease a 8-1/2 by 11 cake pan or a similar size. I have gone up to an 11x17 nordic pan, which tasted great but bars were thinner.

Apple Pie Filling

• Peel and dice your apples, add to a medium sized pot. Add the remaining apple filing ingredients and set on medium heat until brought to a simmer. Remove from the heat once simmering. Let cool for a few minutes while making the blondie batter.
  

Blondies

• Add softened butter to mixer bowl and cream until fluffy. Then, add the sugars in and mix until smooth.
• Crack the eggs in a bowl, and then add them to the mix. Beat the batter and then add the vanilla. Continue mixing and use a rubber spatula if needed to scrape the sides of the bowl.
• Once that is mixed well- add the dry ingredients of the blondie bars. (flour, baking powder, cinnamon) Stir this until well combined.
  
• Split the batter in half. Spread the first half of the batter on the bottom of your greased pan. I used a rubber spatula to get the batter spread well. Set the other half aside for after you make the apples.
  
• This step can be tricky- you are going to pour the apple mixture on top of the blondie mix in the cake pan, spread the apples evenly. If they get kind of mixed in with the batter- it is OK.
  
• Next, add the remaining blondie batter to the top of the apples. This may be easier said than done. I found that using my hands helped spread the batter better. It is going to look messy and you likely won't completely cover the apples. That is OK- trust the process.
  
• Bake at 350 F for 25-35 minutes. This will depend on your pan size. Make sure to check the blondies with a toothpick at 25 minutes and continue baking if the pick does NOT come out clean. Let your bars cool at least 10 minutes before adding the maple frosting.
  

Maple Frosting

• On medium heat, add butter to medium pot and get it melting. Next add the maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon. Whisk well- bring it to a simmer and then remove from heat.
  
• Once off heat- add the powdered sugar in and stir until well combined. Give the frosting 5 minutes to cool before adding to cooled bars. This helps thicken it.