Pumpkin Blondies Recipe

A pumpkin blondie is a chewy brown sugar bar, like a blondie, with real pumpkin purée and warm spice mixed in. These are made in one bowl with melted butter, light brown sugar, ½ cup pumpkin purée, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, then baked in an 8×8 inch pan at 350°F for 28 to 32 minutes. You get 9 large or 16 small squares, about 40 minutes start to finish plus cooling.

The trick is the small amount of pumpkin. Half a cup gives color and flavor without turning the bars into cake. I bake them every fall, usually with white chocolate chips and pecans, because the bars are dense enough to stack in a lunch box and soft enough to eat warm.

Before You Start

• Pan: 8×8 inch, lined with parchment that overhangs two sides
• Oven: 350°F (175°C), 28 to 32 minutes
• Pumpkin: ½ cup (120g) plain purée, not pumpkin pie filling
• Spice: 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ginger
• Mix-ins: ½ cup white chocolate chips and ⅓ cup pecans or walnuts, both optional
• Yield: 9 large or 16 small squares
• Keeps: 4 days airtight at room temperature

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What Makes Them Chewy, Not Cakey

Three choices keep these on the blondie side. The butter is melted, not creamed, so very little air goes into the batter. Brown sugar brings moisture and a caramel taste, which is where the chew comes from. And there is only ½ teaspoon of baking powder for 1 ¼ cups of flour, enough to keep the bars from being heavy, not enough to make them rise like cake.

Pumpkin is the risky part. It is mostly water, so a whole can would give you soft pumpkin squares instead of bars. Use plain purée, not pie filling, which already has sugar and spice in it. Homemade purée is wetter than canned; if yours looks loose, let it drain in a sieve for a while first. My homemade pumpkin purée works once it is thick.

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One Bowl, Start to Finish

Line the pan so the parchment hangs over two sides; you will use it to lift the bars out. Melt the butter and let it cool for a few minutes. Very hot butter starts to cook the egg. Whisk the butter and brown sugar until smooth and glossy, then whisk in the pumpkin, egg and vanilla until even.

Add the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt and baking powder straight into the same bowl. Fold with a rubber spatula only until no dry flour shows. The batter should be thick and heavy, not airy. Fold in the white chocolate chips and nuts if using them.

Spread the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Bake for 28 to 32 minutes. They are ready when the top is golden, the edges look set and pull slightly from the paper, and a toothpick in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. I check at 28 minutes. If you wait for a clean toothpick, the bars dry out as they cool.

Cooling and Cutting Clean Squares

The center still looks soft when the pan comes out, and it firms up as it cools. Leave the blondies in the pan for at least an hour, until completely cool, then lift them out by the parchment. Cut with a serrated or sharp knife and wipe it between cuts.

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White Chocolate or Dark Chocolate Chips?

I have tried both. White chocolate adds sweetness that suits the pumpkin and ginger, and the bars taste brighter. Dark chocolate is stronger than the pumpkin, so the spice gets lost and the bar tastes heavier, closer to a brownie.

For pumpkin chocolate chip blondies, use semisweet chips rather than dark, in the same ½ cup amount. For a softer, more cake-like bar with chocolate, my pumpkin chocolate chip bars are made for that.

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Pumpkin Spice, Cream Cheese and Other Swaps

• Pumpkin spice blondies: replace the three spices with 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice. Add a pinch of cloves or allspice if you like a stronger spice note.
• Pumpkin cheesecake blondies: beat 4 ounces softened cream cheese with 2 tablespoons sugar until smooth, drop small spoonfuls over the batter and drag a knife through once or twice. The swirl may need a few extra minutes; test the blondie part, not the cream cheese. Keep these in the fridge. My pistachio blondies use the same swirl idea.
• Snickerdoodle style: sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the batter before baking, or bake my snickerdoodle blondies for the full version.
• No nuts: leave them out, or use extra chips. The bars hold together without them.

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Keeping and Serving

Store the cut blondies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, with a square of parchment between layers so the tops do not stick. The spice gets a little stronger by day two. For a fall dessert plate, serve them slightly warm with whipped cream, next to pumpkin oatmeal cookies or a slice of pumpkin cheesecake. For a bar that slices like pie for a crowd, bake pumpkin pie bars.

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Short Answers

Why are my pumpkin blondies cakey?

Usually too much pumpkin, creamed instead of melted butter, or over-mixing after the flour. Keep the purée at ½ cup and fold just until the flour disappears.

Why are they gooey in the middle?

They were cut warm or pulled too early. Bake until the edges are set and the toothpick shows moist crumbs, not wet batter, then cool for at least an hour.

Can I double the recipe?

Yes, in a 9×13 inch pan. The layer is a little thicker, so start checking at 30 minutes and use the same toothpick test.

Pin these for the next time you open a can of pumpkin. Tried the cream cheese swirl or a different mix-in? Tell me in the comments how it went.