CARAMEL PUMPKIN BLONDIES

Last week my daughter sent me a picture of some caramel sea salt chips she found in Trader Joe’s.  She knew they were right in my sweet spot (pun intended!)  I am a caramel lover.  I will pick it over chocolate any day.  Add a little salt and that’s perfection.

And of course, I did have a good use for these wonderful morsels of goodness.

When we owned The Carolina Bed & Breakfast in Asheville, NC, I used to make some killer pumpkin blondies for our guests.  The recipe included both white chocolate and butterscotch chips which melted down into the batter and formed a  layer of sheer deliciousness on the bottom topped by a pumpkin spiced layer of cake on top.

How about a third layer?  A layer of salted caramel on top? Definitely.

Why settle for two chips when you can go to town with three?

Line a baking pan with aluminum foil and let the edges hang over.  This will make it easy to remove the bars from your pan.

Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl while the butter and brown sugar are being beaten in the bowl of your stand mixer.  Let the beater run for at least five minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla, and beat it for another two minutes.  Finally add the pumpkin puree and mix that in well.

Just keep on mixing!

Mix in the flour, baking soda and spices on low until they have almost disappeared into the batter and then fold in the white chocolate and butterscotch chips.

It makes a very thick batter.  I wet my hands and use them to spread the batter evenly in the pan but I suppose a damp spatula will do as well.

Bake them until they are done.  The sides will pull away from the edges of the pan.

And finally, the caramel layer!  Sprinkle the chips over the top of the baked blondies and let them sit for 5 minutes.

Sprinkle the chips evenly and let the heat of the freshly baked bars melt them

Now take an offset spatula and spread them evenly across the top. Add a little finishing salt or Fleur de Sel if you like.

Spread it evenly right out to the edges

Once it has cooled, remove the bars from the pan and slice them.

My grandchildren came over that day and the bars disappeared almost before I got to taste one!

When you use a lot of energy in play, you need a Caramel Pumpkin Blondie!

Print

CARAMEL PUMPKIN BLONDIES

Author Susan Murray, www.awomancooksinasheville.com

Ingredients

• 2 c flour
• 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 c butter softened
• 1 ¼ c brown sugar packed
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 c white chocolate chips
• 1 c butterscotch chips
• 1 c sea salt caramel chips see note
• Fleur de Sel optional

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13 x 9” baking pan with foil.
2. Combine the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in a bowl and set it aside.
3. Beat the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer at medium high speed for five minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat again for 2 minutes. Beat in the pumpkin until it is well mixed in.
4. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until it is almost mixed in.
5. Add the white chocolate chips and the butterscotch chips and fold them in until they are well distributed, and all of the flour is incorporated.
6. Use wet hands or a wet spatula to spread the batter evenly in the pan. Back for 35 to 40 minutes until the sides begin to pull away from the pan and a tester comes out clean.
7. Spread the caramel chips evenly over the hot blondies and let them sit for 5 minutes until melted. Use a spatula or knife to spread the caramel evenly over the blondies. Sprinkle with some finishing salt or fleur de sel if desired.
8. Let cool completely then use the sides of the foil to lift the blondies out of the pan and cut into bars.

Recipe Notes

Note: If you can’t find Trader Joe’s Sea Salt and Caramel Chips, you can use Heath Bar Chips or Lindt Dark Chocolate and Caramel Bars. The process is the same.