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Pumpkin Blondies

Pumpkin blondies with browned-butter flavor and a chewy, tender crumb, baked until the center stays just slightly moist with a few crumbs on a toothpick. Topped with caramel drizzle and flaky sea salt for a warm pumpkin spice finish.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
cooling 10 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings: 16 bars
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 330
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

dry ingredients
  • 2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.5 tsp salt
wet ingredients
  • 1 lb unsalted butter melted and browned
  • 1.5 cup brown sugar packed
  • 0.33 cup pumpkin puree blotted dry
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
topping
  • 0.25 caramel sauce for topping
  • 1 tsp flaky sea salt for topping

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Brown butter
  1. Brown the butter until it smells nutty and turns golden, then remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes (it should look amber-gold).
Prep and mix dry ingredients
  1. Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9x13 pan so the blondies lift cleanly after baking.
  2. Whisk the all-purpose flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt until evenly combined and no streaks remain.
Mix wet ingredients and combine
  1. Whisk the browned butter and brown sugar until glossy, then stir in the blotted pumpkin puree.
  2. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract until the batter looks smooth and thick.
  3. Fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients just until no dry spots remain, then spread the batter evenly in the pan.
Bake, cool, and finish
  1. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350F until a toothpick shows just a few moist crumbs (not wet batter).
  2. Cool completely before topping with caramel drizzle and flaky sea salt, so the caramel sets and the bars slice cleanly.

Notes

For the cleanest texture, blot the pumpkin puree well so the blondies don’t turn gummy. Store covered at room temperature up to 2 days or refrigerate up to 5 days; freeze up to 2 months. For a lighter option, use a half-and-half mix of all-purpose flour and whole-wheat pastry flour (keep the bake time the same).