Have you got a last-minute dessert emergency on your hands? Did you forget about the bake sale? Or maybe some friends stopped by unexpectedly. Consider this blondie your sweet life vest.

As I’m sure you know, a blondie is a basically a brownie flavored with vanilla and brown sugar. It’s a heavenly confection. But what you may not know is that blondies basically come together with the most basic of pantry staples: A little flour, sugar, butter, and eggs and you’re on your way. I can almost guarantee you’ve got it covered in the cupboard right now. If you have chocolate on hand, then you can make the classic chocolate chip blondie. But if you’re a fruit fan, then I suggest you try this apple-cinnamon version. It’s a cross between a dense, chewy blondie and a dainty, fragrant apple cake. It’s elegant enough for an afternoon tea, but also rustic and simple, and easy to prepare.

But why stop there? If apple season has come and gone, keep this recipe in your back pocket for another day. It would be nice with dried apricots and almonds, crisp Bosc pears and pecans, or maybe toffee bits and raisins. Let your imagination and your cupboard inspire you.

Samantha Seneviratne is a New York-based writer, recipe developer and food stylist. She is the author of The New Sugar and Spice (Ten Speed Press), a baking cookbook combining family stories and food history with recipes that reimagine dessert as a more balanced mix of sugar and spice. Her second book, Gluten Free for Good (Clarkson Potter), comes out in August 2016. She blogs about dessert at Love, Cake.