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Pumpkin Blondies are the perfect balance of chewy and cakey. Loaded with chocolate chips, these blondie bars are a fun fall treat to make for your family!
You guys, things are getting serious over here.
I’m getting pumpkin hate mail.
Yes, you read that correctly. Not like real hate mail (well, I get some of that too,) but emails specifically targeting the “excessive amount of pumpkin recipes” that I’ve posted in the past few weeks.
Sure, I’ve already posted pumpkin creme brulee, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin chocolate chip bread and now these pumpkin blondies, but guys, it’s fall and pumpkin is what I do.
And I’m not one bit sorry about it.
However, if you’re a pumpkin hater as well, I’m just here to tell you that I have plenty of non-pumpkin recipes coming your way in the coming months, so hang tight!
WHY I LOVE BLONDIE BARS
Have you ever had a blondie bar?
Blondies are exactly what they sound like: the blonde version of a brownie.
Just like brownies, they can range anywhere from cakey to chewy in texture. Many blondie recipes, like my salted caramel chocolate chip blondies or like maple walnut blondies, tend more toward chewy because of the ratio of brown sugar in them.
But honestly, there are blondie recipes for just about everyone.
Just because the blondie base doesn’t use chocolate doesn’t mean that you can’t include chocolate chips or chunks as mix-ins, though.
In fact, one of the reasons I love blondies is that you can get a bit more creative with mix-ins and flavors than you can with brownies.
Like, I’m not real likely to add caramel apple flavor to a chocolate brownie. But in my caramel apple blondies? It’s perfection.
I also find it hard to add pumpkin to rich chocolate desserts. You have to use some special tricks to keep the pumpkin from getting lost in a chocolate brownie.
But the pumpkin easily shines through in these Pumpkin Blondies.
HOW TO MAKE PUMPKIN BLONDIES
On the scale from chewy to cakey, Pumpkin Blondies sit squarely in the middle. They’re just enough of each to satisfy both sides of the cakey/chewy debate.
To get started, cream the butter and sugars in a mixer until smooth, then add in the egg, vanilla and pumpkin puree.
At this point, you might notice that the mixture looks a little…curdled. Don’t panic! This is normal and it’ll all come together, I promise.
Once you add the dry ingredients, you can fold in your mix-ins. I like to use chocolate chips and pecans, but you could use anything you like!
Butterscotch chips, dried cherries, dried cranberries, cinnamon chips, white chocolate chips, walnuts…the options are endless.
After about 40 minutes in the oven, these beauties will be ready to cool, cut and serve.
They’ll keep for around 3 days in an airtight container, and I happen to think they’re even better the next day.
You could even wrap the bars in plastic wrap and freeze them in a zip-top bag for enjoying later.
Take some time this weekend to make this recipe with your kids. No matter what mix-ins you choose, I know you’ll love baking them together as much as you love eating them.
Pumpkin Blondies
Ingredients
- 2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 15 can pure pumpkin puree 15 ounces
- 2 cups dark chocolate chips
- ¾ cup pecans roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on all sides. Grease with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars on medium-high speed until smooth; beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in pumpkin puree. If the mixture looks curdled, do not fret.
- Reduce speed to low, and mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips and pecans.
- Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in pan.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love this recipe! Will be linking back to this in my upcoming post :)
Oh. My. Gosh. These were amazing! I made them to take to friends that we were going to visit and after having one little taste as I cut them, I had to ‘even out’ each and every one. Can’t take crooked treats to a friend, right?! :)
Cary-
I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed the blondies! Thanks so much for coming back and sharing your experience with the recipe. Have a great day.
-Jamie
I just came across this recipe and it is so yummy! I substituted the all-pupose flour for whole wheat and they were still yummy! Thanks for sharing.
Anna-
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed the Pumpkin Blondies recipe. Thanks so much for coming back and telling us your thoughts! Have a great day.
-Jamie
For some reason I never left a comment even though I linked back! That was a bit obnoxious, I’m sorry! These were DELICIOUS! I had to adapt them to a GF diet but to have a recipe still come out fantastic means it was amazing to begin with! Thank you so much for this recipe, I’m going to come back to it this year when I can get my hands on some pumpkin!
Oh my! Love this recipe!
This sounds awesome! I love pumpkin anything, then add chocolate and make it into a blondie – you are a genius!!
These were AMAZING! I’m not a huge fan of pumpkin but had to try these. So glad I gave them a chance. Definitely a keeper.
These are soooo good! I’ll have to make them again soon.