Pumpkin Blondies - Everyday Annie

Alright guys, I really did the best that I could but I just could not put off baking with pumpkin any longer. As you may know, fall is my absolute favorite season and this year I have been worse than ever, just pining for fall since the second week in June – I’m not kidding. I remember seeing variations on pumpkin blondies all over food blogs last fall and somehow I never got around to making them. Naturally, I’ve been thinking about them all summer – hence my making them in mid-August on a 90 degree day. A warm one of these with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream…I can at least pretend it’s fall, right?

I suppose these bars are not a traditional blondie because they are not made with brown sugar, but you could easily make that substitution if you so desire and I think they would be great that way. They still have a great warm flavor, reminiscent of caramel, so I think they fit best in the blondie category regardless. The texture is slightly more fluffy than you may expect from a bar cookie, but I attribute that to the pumpkin as nearly all baked goods I have made with pumpkin turn out deliciously soft and puffy. Now, I used only white chocolate chips this time around but let me just say that I absolutely insist that you mix in some butterscotch chips when you try this recipe! I honestly don’t know how I could have overlooked such an obvious and awesome mix-in, but I thought of it about 3 minutes before they came out of the oven. Doh! If you are the nutty dessert type, I bet some toasted pecans or walnuts would be good too.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1¼ cups granulated sugar (or brown sugar)
1 large egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
½ cup chopped, toasted nuts (optional)

Directions

01

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9×13-inch baking dish with foil. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. Stir together and set aside.
02

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined. Mix in the pumpkin puree. With the mixer on low speed add the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Fold in the white chocolate and butterscotch chips (and nuts, if using) with a rubber spatula.
03

Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs, about 35-40 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely before cutting.
04

To serve, lift the cake from the pan using the foil and transfer to a cutting board. Peel off the foil and using a sharp knife, cut into 24 squares.

Source

adapted from Martha Stewart