pumpkin blondies

Pumpkin blondies?
Can we call it that?
Not sure since the pumpkin is on the top, along with a hint of cream cheese. But the cake-base is a blondie mix...so why not call it a blondie.
It's delish no matter what you call it, and it has a nice light pumpkin flavor.

Are you making any pumpkin dishes for Thanksgiving?  What about breakfast?
Do you do breakfast? Or just snacks until the big feast?

If you need an idea for a light breakfast, my pumpkin-butterscotch is perfect.
I love to hear what everyone is eating and making for Thanksgiving.
You know what I love most about holiday dining?  The apps, the side dishes, and desert.  Oh yeah.
I can easily skip the whole turkey and ham and just dig into the side dishes.





Need a really tasty dessert for Thanksgiving?

Try my pumpkin cheesecake with nutella ganache

A couple great ideas for an easy breakfast:

sweet potato muffins stuffed with cinnamon-mascarpone


crumb cake muffins with creamy espresso filling


raspberry-cream cheese crumb cake (this one is very popular on Pinterest right now)

      
banana-butterscotch bread

pumpkin blondies

print recipe

blondie base:

10 TB unsalted butter, room temp +extra butter for pan

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 ts baking powder

3/4 ts salt

1 cup packed light-brown sugar

2 large eggs

½ ts pure vanilla extract

pumpkin topping:

4 ounces cream cheese

½ cup plain pumpkin puree

1 egg yolk

1-2 TB sugar

a few dashes of either cinnamon and/or pumpkin spice

Cook notes:

I don’t like a lot of pumpkin pie spice, so I was very gentle on adding it in the mixture.

You might want to taste test if before baking to see if you like it. 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Butter or non-stick spray a 8-inch square baking pan.  If your pan needs to have parchment paper to avoid sticking go ahead and do so.  

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt, set aside.

In a glass or cup, mix the eggs and vanilla extract until combined, set aside.

In a large bowl mix the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; cream on medium speed until smooth and fluffy.  Then add in eggs and vanilla mixing well.   Add flour mixture and mix until just combined.  No need to overmix.

Pour batter into prepared pan; spread with a rubber spatula or wet hands. Make sure it gets into the corners.

For the pumpkin topping:

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. I used a fork to mix this, as I wanted lumps.

If you don’t want lumps then mix all this in a mixer until smooth.

Using a spoon or piping bag, place lines of the pumpkin mixture on top of blondie batter.

I just left it as lines.  If you want it more mixed then use a chopstick or thin/skinny knife and make swirls.

Bake in oven for about 25-35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into blondies comes out “almost” clean; okay to have a few bits of crumb on the cake tester.  Cooking times vary depending on oven, so please check at 25 minute mark.

Let cool before cutting into squares. 

For decoration, dust with confectioners' sugar before cutting into squares.