We had company over for Fiesta night, and I wanted to try making a new dessert. I found these while cruising the internet recently and thought they looked amazing.  There are tons of great pumpkin recipes out there, and this one is from My Baking Addiction.

 

 

I started combining my spices and dry ingredients.

 

 

The next step calls for creaming the butter and sugars.

 

 

This is a common step in many baking recipes.  Since one of my goals when I started this blog was to improve my baking technique,  I did a little research on ‘creaming’.  I read that this process should actually take 8 minutes (as opposed to the 2-3 minutes I usually do).  So I set the timer on my oven to see if there was a difference.  Since I have a hand mixer, it was a little extra work and obviously with one hand on the mixer and one on the bowl, it was tough to take pictures.

 

 

After 2-3 minutes, I was ready to stop.  By 4 minutes, my arm was quite tired but I continued.  After 8 minutes, the mix really looked ‘light and fluffy’.  It definitely looked different from my usual creamed butter and sugar.  I was eager to see if it would make a difference in the final product.

 

 

I added my pumpkin (1 full can) and although it did look curdled, per the author’s instructions, I did not fret.

 

 

I combined the dry with the wet ingredients.

 

 

And folded in the chocolate chips and nuts. I had a few pecans and few walnuts left over so I mixed both.

 

 

I baked the blondies in my glass Pyrex and didn’t use the parchment paper.

 

 

They came out beautiful and easily slid out of the pan.  The texture was very light as well.

 

 

My guests loved them!  I sent them home with leftovers and the recipe!

Enjoy!

 

 

Pumpkin Blondies

From My Baking Addiction

 

Ingredients:

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

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 dark chocolate chips

3/4 cup pecans; roughly chopped

 

Directions:

1. 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.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

3. 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.

4. Reduce speed to low, and mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips and pecans.

5. 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: Store the pumpkin blondies in a single layer inside an airtight container for up to three days.