Apple Cream Cheese Blondies w/Brown Sugar Frosting

Our "comfort food" dinner. I just love sweet potatoes.

With or without the frosting? I loved them both ways.

Happy FALL! For some reason, I am EXTRA excited about the fall season this year. Maybe it is the fact that I have 3 sweet pumpkins here at home with me that I get to cuddle up with! To welcome the fall, (even though it is still warm in OK) we have some serious comfort food on the menu tonight! For dinner, I'm making the Pioneer Woman's Meatloaf, loaded baked sweet potatoes and green beans! I'm not a huge meatloaf fan, but this was pretty tasty! For dessert, I made some Apple Cream Cheese Blondies. The Brown Sugar Frosting is optional...the blondies are very tasty on their own...very light and fluffy! Forget the calorie counting today....this girl needs some comfort food!

Apple Cream Cheese Blondies w/Brown Sugar Frosting

Blondies:
2/3 cup butter, softened
2 cups brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch salt
1 cup peeled chopped apples

3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

3 oz cream cheese (frozen for about 1 hr, and cut into little cubes, also optional)

Brown Sugar Frosting:
4 oz butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
¼ cup milk
2 cups icing (confectioner's) sugar, sifted

Blondies:
Prepare a 13 x 9 dish with cooking spray, or line with parchment paper. Preheat Oven to 350.

Beat butter, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla until thick and smooth, about 3 minutes. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture on low speed, mixing until blended. Stir in apples and nuts, mixing well. Fold in the cream cheese pieces. Spread evenly in the prepared dish and bake until set and golden, 25-30 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on rack.

Brown Sugar Frosting:
In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar and milk. Bring mixture just to a boil then remove from heat and let cool to lukewarm. Sift in the confectioner's sugar, mixing until smooth. Spread evenly over bar. Let stand until frosting is firm enough to cut. Cut into bars or squares.