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These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Blondies are the perfect balance of chewy and cakey and are from my upcoming cookbook, Even Better Brownies. Loaded with both white & dark chocolate chips, these blondie bars are a fun fall treat to make for the entire family to enjoy!
Table of contents
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Blondies
When I was writing Even Better Brownies, I knew I wanted to include recipes that could be made any time of year, as well as seasonal treats. And come fall/October, I'm usually looking for a way to bake with pumpkin (that isn't traditional pumpkin pie); since I already had a recipe for Pumpkin Swirl Brownies, these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Blondies were the next logical conclusion.
If you’re looking for a classic moist, lightly spiced, chocolate chip pumpkin bar, square, or blondie, this is the one. It’s not too cakey, not too gooey, perfectly spiced, and perfectly chipped. It’s ideal for a coffee break, the lunchbox, after school, or just because it’s fall. I won’t pretend I haven’t eaten one for breakfast!
Ingredients Needed for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Blondies
For these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Blondies, you need some pretty basic pantry ingredients:
- Butter– I prefer using unsalted butter in my baked goods, but salted is just fine, too... you'll just want to omit the salt the recipe calls for.
- Dark Brown Sugar– The color, moisture, and flavor you get from the molasses in dark brown sugar can't be beaten.
- Granulated Sugar– It's nice to have a bit of balance as far as sweeteners are concerned.
- Egg– The egg acts as our binder, holding these delicious blondies together.
- Vanilla– Hello flavor!
- Pumpkin– Make sure it's pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling.
- All-purpose Flour– I tested these blondies with different types of flour and found all-purpose to consistently lead to the best results.
- Cinnamon + Pumpkin Pie Spice– Our warm flavors for these pumpkin chocolate chip blondies.
- Baking Soda + Salt– The salt helps balance all that sugar and the baking soda is our leavening agent.
- Chocolate Chips– I like using a mix of white and dark chocolate, but feel free to use only one type if that's your style.
How to Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Blondies
Now, let’s make these blondies! For full details on how to make these pumpkin chocolate chip blondies, see the recipe card down below.
- Start by creaming your butter and sugars together. To the butter and sugar, add in an egg, some vanilla, some spices, and some pumpkin.
- Once all the wet ingredients are well incorporated, measure out and stir in all of the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined.
- The last thing to do is throw in a mountain of chocolate chips.
- Spread the batter out into a prepared pan and bake. After about 35 minutes, you should have this soft-tender-chocolatey-pumpkiny treat. I waited approximately 2 minutes before shoveling these into my mouth but you should definitely let them cool completely in the pan.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Blondies Recipe: Troubleshooting & FAQ
Can I reduce the sugar?
I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s doing more than lending a sweet flavor; it’s actually helping with the structure of the overall blondie. I promise the blondies themselves aren’t overly sweet, so just follow the recipe as is!
Can I halve this recipe?
Technically, yes you can halve the recipe and bake it in an 8x8-inch pan... but it's not ideal/you may have some ingredients go to waste. I developed this recipe so that it would use an entire can (15 oz) of pumpkin puree; so halving the recipe means you'll have leftover pumpkin to deal with storing (although that's not the end of the world). Additionally, this recipe calls for only one egg. In order to halve it, you'll have to whisk the egg in a small bowl until the egg white and the yolk are combined, and then take two tablespoons of that whisked egg mixture and add it to the batter. Lastly, you'll just want to watch the bake time. I'd start by checking for doneness around 28-30 minutes and every 2 minutes afterward until you achieve moist crumbs on a toothpick.
Why are my blondies dry?
If you used cup measures as opposed to weight measures, there’s a larger chance your blondies will come out dry. Why? As weird as this sounds, measuring cups aren’t as accurate as you think. For example, somebody who scoops the measuring cup into the flour will have way more than somebody who uses a spoon to scoop the flour into the same sized measuring cup. This is why you should really be measuring by weight with a kitchen scale instead—it’s much more reliable and completely eliminates any inconsistencies.
Why are my blondies so sweet?
It sounds like you bought pumpkin pie filling instead of plain pumpkin puree! Pumpkin pie filling is a mixture of cooked, mashed winter squash that is blended with sweetener and spices... meaning you added spices and sugar to a mixture that was already spiced and sweetened. You'll have to start over with the recipe and make sure to use plain pumpkin puree next time!
If you like what you taste/see here, be sure to preorder my cookbook!
LOOKING FOR MORE FALL RECIPES? CHECK THESE OUT!
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes w/ Maple Brown Butter Buttercream Frosting
Pumpkin Swirl Brownies
Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Baked Apple Cider Donuts
Chai Spiced Cinnamon Rolls
Salted Caramel Swirl Cheesecake Bars
Spiced Maple Pecan Scones
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Blondies
Ingredients
- 280 g all-purpose flour
- 6 g pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 230 g unsalted butter
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 220 g dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 10 g vanilla extract
- 425 g pumpkin puree
- 180 g white chocolate chips
- 175 g dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 9 x 13–inch (22 x 33–cm) pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray and then line the pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on all sides. Grease the parchment with butter or nonstick cooking spray and then set it aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Set it aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using an electric hand mixer, cream the butter, granulated sugar and dark brown sugar on medium-high speed until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla until combined. Then, beat in the pumpkin puree.If the mixture looks curdled, don’t freak out!
- Reduce the speed to low and mix in the dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in the dark and white chocolate chips with a rubber spatula.
- Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into bars.
Notes
Nutrition
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Greenie
I baked them until the toothpick came out clean in a few places, but after cooling and cutting, I found them to be not completely baked even after baking longer than recommended. Very strange. Almost like if you cut into brownies while still warm. Very uneven baking. I tasted a corner, and it was good, but had to throw the rest out. They were too moist and fell apart.
Mike Johnson
Oh no! Sorry to hear you couldn't enjoy the entire pan! The uneven baking sounds like your oven might have some hot spots, so I'd recommend checking that out. To sniff out your oven's funny spots, turn the oven to 350°F, use slices of bread to cover the oven racks, and wait a few minutes until they begin to toast. Then just note which turn brown (hot spot) and which stay pale (cold spot). That way anytime you bake something in the future, you know which spots to watch for and can rotate your pan(s) as needed!
Kate G
Made for a potluck today but they came out super fluffy, not dense like a brownie. The taste seems off also. Not great. I used the US Conversion button and was surprised at the amounts (I had originally converted them on an app until I saw the button and got very different amounts between the two). I’ll try it again using the lower amounts but feel like this was a waste of ingredients.
Mike Johnson
Hi Kate! I post my recipes in grams as it’s the most accurate way to bake and it’s how I develop them; cups are not only inaccurate, but they vary in volume worldwide! In any event, if you look at the recipe card underneath the ingredients list, you can click “US Customary” and it’ll convert to the volume measures!
Amber
I made these yesterday - I stupidly forgot the baking soda (I missed it, hiding at the bottom of the ingredients list) which likely made them more dense, and less "crumby", but they were still super moist and delicious; more like a fudgey brownie (but I'm not complaining about that!!). I took them to a friend's house for afternoon tea and they were enjoyed by the adults and the young children. Thank you!
Marcy
Oh my.. I did the same thing! They are in the oven now.. hope they turn out!!
TAMATHA
I was planning on trying the recipe however when i started to make them i noticed the majority is measured out in grams, or at least i think thats what the "g" ment behind the majority of your ingrediants. Sorry to say, it didnt happen. Not everyone measures ingrediants out like that. Wish there had been a recipe i could of followed, was looking forward to trying them.
Michael Johnson
Hi Tamatha! Actually, most of the world measures their ingredients using grams, the only countries who don't are Myanmar, Liberia, and the U.S. I post my recipes in grams as it’s the most accurate way to bake and it’s how I develop them; cups are not only inaccurate but they vary in volume worldwide! In any event, if you look at the recipe card underneath the ingredients list, you can click “US Customary” and it’ll convert to the less-accurate volume measures! Thanks for leaving a one-star review on a recipe you didn't make though!
Amber
I appreciate the option of both Metric and US - as an Australian, with a kitchen scale, I prefer weighing my ingredients (which also makes for more consistent results). Thank you! 😊
Ginger Henderson
I am really enjoying your recipes and can’t wait for your book! These blondies are so delish flavor wise. Mine are so dense though and seem a bit wet, not sure what happened, unless they are under baked? They just don’t have a crumb at all.
Pamela Lamp
I just made these brownies - the second of your recipes I've tried. Wonderful! Your recipes are delicious, and the instructions are simple to follow. I will be purchasing your upcoming cookbook and recommending it to my followers and subscribers. Thank you! Can't wait to keep baking with you!