I love pumpkin. No question about it. When my curling club had a bonspiel (tournament) named the “Big Pumpkin,” I knew I had to make a dessert and this one popped off the page at me. It turned out pretty well, though a little more cake like than blondie like. I’d give it a try again though. It’s mild enough to please many palettes and was gone before the night was over.
Makes: 1 9×13 tray
Adapted from: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (and Brown Eyed Baker who also adapted from Mel)
Ingredients:
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, room temperature (2 sticks)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (15-ounce) can pure pumpkin puree
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray down the pan with cooking spray or use parchment paper to cover the bottom.
Whisk together flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In another bowl, cream the butter and both sugars until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Add pumpkin puree and mix until combined.
Mix in the dry ingredients, stirring just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Spread the batter evenly in 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 moist crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into squares and serving.
Notes:
Mel had swapped out half the butter for applesauce. If I had been making it for myself, I would have tried that. Also, applesauce has a tendency to make things a little more airy as does pumpkin, so I chose to stay with all butter in hopes of making this more blondie and less cake like. Since they still came out closer to a cake, next time I’d definitely sub in the applesauce and save myself the calories. I also might take down the pumpkin spice a little, maybe 2 teaspoons instead.
