I’ve said it before but pumpkin isn’t my favorite flavor but today I’m taking that back. It’s still not my favorite flavor, but I’m beginning to like it a whole lot more. Why you ask? Because I’ve found recipes that combine pumpkin with other flavors so the pumpkin isn’t super overpowering. You get the nice pumpkin flavor but like a subtle version of it. Kind of like with this pumpkin crunch cake. These pumpkin blondies do just that. The combination of the pumpkin flavor with the blondie cookie and the chocolate chips is the ultimate fall dessert. Or breakfast if you ask my husband who ate these leftovers with milk on them for breakfast, kind of like a bread pudding or French toast casserole I guess. So let’s check something off your fall bucket list and enjoy this homemade pumpkin treat!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easy to make – just like with other bars (hello s’mores bars!), these pumpkin blondies are just mixing a couple of ingredients together then layering them in a baking dish. No need for it to be pretty, it’ll taste good even if it doesn’t look great! Great make ahead dessert – I actually recommend making these ahead of time because they’re even better the next day, especially when served with some fresh whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or apparently milk. Moist – although the outside may make them look like they’re be a little dry, they’re actually very moist inside because of the moisture in the pumpkin!
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
Pumpkin puree – make sure that you’re using canned pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. You won’t need an entire can, so I always recommend making these pumpkin cheesecake bars with any leftovers! Butter – make sure you’re using unsalted butter, not salted. Salted butter will add more salt than you want to the recipe, and they won’t have the same sweetness you’re looking for! Also, make sure it’s soft! Pumpkin pie spice – if you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, you can use this recipe to make your own pumpkin pie spice and use that instead. Chocolate chips – this recipe calls for semi-sweet but if you don’t have semi-sweet, you can always replace those with milk or dark chocolate as well if you prefer something else. The milk will make the bread a little bit sweeter but still should taste okay. Or if you don’t want chocolate chips at all, you could replace these with chopped nuts, toffee bits, or butterscotch chips. Brown sugar – light brown sugar can be used for the dark brown sugar in this recipe, it may just give you a slightly lighter shade of color.
How to Make Pumpkin Blondies
If you can make sugar cookies or homemade brownies, you can make these pumpkin treats.
Start by preheating the oven to 350°F and lining a 9″ x 13″ baking pan with parchment paper. Spray the parchment pan with non-stick spray.
Using the parchment paper will allow you to easily pull the blondies out of the oven when they’re done, making them much easier to cut! You can make these right in the pan but they’ll likely not cut pretty, so just be aware of that!
Once your pan is ready, combine flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl together and set aside. Just mix a few times to distribute the spice throughout the flour.
Then cream together the sugars and softened butter in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer in another bowl until smooth. This typically takes about two minutes to get it really smooth depending on the power of your mixer.
Add the egg and stir that in. Then add the pumpkin and vanilla and beat again until both are combined into the mixture completely.
Add the first bowl with all of your dry ingredients to the second bowl with creamed mixture and mix well, making sure again that there are no dry spots left when you’re done mixing.
Finish it off by folding in the chocolate chips using a spatula or wooden spoon. You want to fold them in gently rather than using an actual mixer so that the chips are stirred into the mixture without being cut in pieces.
Pour the dough into the prepared pan on top of the parchment paper and use a spatula or back of a wooden spoon to spread the batter evenly throughout the pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the pan.
Allow blondies to cool completely before lifting the parchment paper and removing them from the pan.
Cut using a plastic knife in a sawing motion so that they don’t fall apart when cutting.
Then serve the pumpkin blondies plain, with whipped cream, or my favorite – with vanilla ice cream! Oh and don’t forget the glass of milk!
Expert Tips
Store in an airtight container for up to five days. Then either finish them off or trash! Wet your hands down to help spread the batter into the pan if you find it sticking to the spatula or wooden spoon. The liquid helps keep the batter from sticking to your hands. Don’t over bake. Start checking the blondies right around 35 minutes and check every five minutes or so until the toothpick comes out clean. Cut off the edges if they get dried out during the baking process. Sometimes they will with the parchment paper. Just cut a line around the edges and you’ll have a delicious, moist layer of pumpkin blondies left to enjoy!
More Fall Desserts
If you’re into fall desserts like these pumpkin blondies, you’ll love these other yummy recipes!
Caramel apple toppings – the ultimate list of caramel apple toppings and a fun caramel apple board idea!Cream cheese apple dip – this caramel apple dip went viral on Facebook and TikTok for a reason, it’s super easy and so good! No bake pumpkin pie – this pumpkin pie is for people who don’t like traditional pumpkin pie! It’s light, fluffy, and not overly pumpkin tasting! Easy apple crumble – an apple lover’s dream! Fresh apples topped with a crumble topping and caramel filling, seriously so amazing. Pumpkin crisp – a soft pumpkin layer topped with an oatmeal streusel, this is one people will be asking about for months to come!
