Apple Peanut Butter M&M’s Blondie Bars #FlavorofFall
If you like snacking on peanut butter and apples, you’ll LOVE these bars! A thick and fudgy whole wheat blondie is infused with apple sauce, oats, and peanut butter, and studded all throughout with peanut butter m&m’s! It’s a fun #FlavorofFall treat your whole family will enjoy.
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As sorry as I am to see all the summer-y berries and stone fruit go, I think my kiddos are ready for a change. They started asking for apples and pears a few weeks ago, and now their time has come and I couldn’t be happier to get back to the #FlavorofFall.
Apples are truly a staple in our house, especially at this time of year. Apple juice quenches their thirst, apple sauce goes in their lunchboxes, and after school, we’re all about fresh apples dipped in peanut butter.
Now that they’re (finally!) settling into their new school routine (and doing such an excellent job, I might add), I thought it might be fun to offer them a special treat as a reward. When they get off the bus today, I’ll be greeting them with a sweet homemade treat, inspired by the fall flavors we all love so much.
Last time I was at Walmart I grabbed a couple bags of these fun fall m&m’s flavors. They had candy apple m&m’s, which I thought sounded interesting, but I couldn’t resist grabbing a bag of my favorite peanut butter variety too. Just like always, I stocked up on apples, apple juice, and apple sauce too. My kids would never forgive me if we didn’t have a stockpile, at all times.
I mixed up the applesauce into my favorite peanut butter blondie recipe, and threw in some oats too, to make them extra chewy and satisfying. Then folded in a few handfuls of those peanut butter m&m’s. My kids CANNOT resist the bright colors. They are completely drawn in by anything “rainbow!”
These things are omgdelish. The apple flavor really shines through in the peanut butter blondie, with those chewy oats and peanut-buttery m&m’s. Definitely pin-worthy, or you can use the handy “Save Recipe” feature in the recipe card below 😉
Hope you’re enjoying the #FlavorofFall too! And getting into the swing of back to school. Last week I was feeling like it was all such an uphill battle, getting them into the new routine, but things are much better now! Sometimes all it takes is a little positive reinforcement, so we set up a little rewards system, and yesterday they came home and got right into their homework without any begging or pleading! I’m so pleased, and really looking forward to rewarding them with this yummy treat 😉
This is a sponsored post on behalf of #CollectiveBias, Mars m&m’s, and Motts. All opinions expressed herein are straight from my heart.
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Peanut Butter Apple Blondie Bars
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter, (1 stick), softened
- 3/4 cup (165 g) dark brown sugar
- 1 egg, (large)
- 1/3 cup (81.33 g) applesauce
- 1/3 cup (86 g) peanut butter
- 1 cup (120 g) whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 cup (40.5 g) old fashioned oats
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (258 g) peanut butter m&m's
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, lightly mist an 8x8-inch square pan with non-stick spray, and line with parchment.
- Cream the butter and brown sugar until fluffy.
- Add the egg, and mix until incorporated.
- Scrape the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl with a silicone spatula, and add the applesauce and peanut butter.
- Add the flour, oats, cinnamon, and salt, and mix on low speed until combined.
- Fold in most of the Peanut Butter M&M's, reserving a handful for topping.
- Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pan, and top with the reserved M&M's.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into bars.
YUM! can’t wait to try!!!
Thanks Jodi! I hope you enjoy!
Oh my goodness, this is such a nostalgic recipe. I kind of want to make these for myself so I have them when I come home from “school” (you know, adult school aka work). I have never seen candy apple M&Ms but they sound like a really interesting twist!
I think they’re new… pretty interesting! But the PB ones are my favorite 😉 So glad you enjoyed, thank you Nora!
Geez what’s not to like about these. Perfect snacking food with a little M & M action to be naughty about.
Ha ha, so true Carol! That’s just what I was thinking when I was eating them. The M&M’s are such a treat. So glad you liked! 🙂
Apples and peanut butter are definitely a preferred snack in my house, and your Blondies with M&Ms are the perfect fall dessert! More like snack – pretty sure I couldn’t limit these to dessert. 🙂
I had a hard time with that myself, Meggan! Lol… Thanks so much for the sweet comment! Hope you’re having a great week, sweetie 😉
I’m totally with your kiddos. I’ve been craving apples and pears! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the applesauce in these bars! Pinned!
Aw, thank you so much for pinning! We are going through apples in this house like there’s no tomorrow. It’s great!
These bars look super amazing and tasty! I love snacking on apple and peanut butter- too good! These bars would be fabulous for me to try- loving the m&m’s!! 😀
Oh, ya! The M&M’s were the best part! Thanks so much for the sweet comment, Jess <3