Fall baking kick-off: Pumpkin Blondies

It’s finally here: at 4:05 am CST today, autumn arrived!

This is such a fun time of year; it feels like home to me. There’s something about the scents of cloves and nutmeg, the sight of fat, cheerful pumpkins, and the taste of apples and cinnamon that make me feel comforted and happy.

It’s the time of year that brings with it festivals in every small town; everyone shows up cheerful, excited to see each other and to be outside together in the crisper, brighter air. It’s so much fun to see bright yellow mums show up on the neighbors’ doorstep while scarecrows stand guard near the door.

I love it. I love it all.

I was asked to bake something on KLTV for today’s Good Morning East Texas, and of course I immediately began thinking of a tasty, easy way to kick off fall baking, since today is the first day of the season. It’s also National White Chocolate Day, so when I found this recipe, I knew it would be just right. Here’s what I made along with my friend, Jennifer Hines:

Pumpkin Blondies

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon fresh nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 cup white chocolate chips

1 cup cinnamon chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on all sides.Spray with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.
With an electric mixer, cream butter and both sugars until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well blended. Add the pumpkin puree. Reduce speed to low, and mix in the flour mixture until just combined. Don’t overmix. Stir in the white and cinnamon chips by hand.

Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for about 35-40 minutes. The sides will pull away from the pan and brown a bit. Do the toothpick test, if it comes out clean. They are done. Cool completely in pan. Lift the blondies from the pan, using the foil. from pan. Peel off the foil and cut into squares.

If you like, you can drizzle with melted white chocolate or cream cheese icing, too.

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(Recipe adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe by Maria Lichty of TwoPeasandTheirPod.com)

After we filmed the segment, the crew and some friends down in the newsroom finished up the whole pan of these blondies; there were lots of “ohh, I love fall” types of comments as they enjoyed them. 🙂 The scent of the baking treat made the whole station smell lovely, too. I hope you’ll try them, too, to welcome fall into your home!