Blondie Recipe for Chocolate Lovers

This marvelous, magically delicious, and completely wonderful blondie recipe is perfect for dessert fanatics, white chocolate lovers and pumpkin purveyors. The white chocolate flavor is more subtle than in many other white chocolate blondie recipes, complementing, but not overwhelming, the dessert. And, really, who doesn’t love pumpkin, especially during the fall and winter months?!

400 Sensational Cookies by Linda Amendt is a cookbook that has proved to be a guarded addition to my kitchen. This is the third recipe I have made from it, and each one before it was equally enjoyable! The other two I created were the Cranberry Orange Spirals and the Chocolate Chip Espresso Cookies. For these White Chocolate Pumpkin Blondies, I made a few small changes and have some tips and suggestions for making them amazing.

First off, I don’t have a 9″x9″ baking pan, but I do have an 8″x8″ and a 13″x9″. I opted for the 8″x8″ pan, reduced the temperature to 240 degrees F and baked for 42 minutes. Other than that, I didn’t make any other changes. Whenever you use a smaller pan than called for in a recipe, reduce the temperature 5-10 degrees and increase the baking time, checking them at the recommended time frame and increasing from there. Mine were like a cake. That could have been because of the size of my pan. Either way, they were fabulous!

You won’t need a mixer for this dessert; in fact I recommend not using one. This comes together very easily with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, and using a mixer will most likely overbeat the ingredients, leaving less than desirable results.

When melting butter, I recommend using the microwave, but do it for short intervals only (15-20 seconds) on 50% power. When most of the butter has melted, remove it from the microwave and stir until any unmelted pieces blend and break apart. Add another 5-10 seconds to the microwave, again at 50% power, if necessary. By melting the butter in short intervals, it won’t be too hot and won’t come to a boil.

Ingredients

Blondies

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup solid pack pumpkin (puree)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped white chocolate or white chocolate chips (I used the chips)
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Frosting

5 oz white chocolate, chopped
2 tbsp heavy whipping cream
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioner’s (powdered/icing) sugar
2 tbsp finely chopped pecans

Directions (Blondies)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil, grease or spray the foil. Whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, use a wire whisk to lightly beat the eggs. Add the pumpkin and stir until well combined. Add brown sugar and stir until well blended. Stir in melted butter and vanilla. Gradually add the flour mixture, stirring just until blended. Fold in the white chocolate and the pecans. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let cool completely in baking pan on a wire rack.

Directions (Frosting)

In a large microwave safe bowl, heat white chocolate and cream in the microwave at 70% power for 30 seconds. Stir until smooth. If necessary, heat at 50% power for 10 seconds at a time, stirring between each heating, just until chocolate is melted. Do not overheat. Cool for 5 minutes.

In mixer bowl with paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Scrape down the sides, then add the cooled white chocolate mixture and beat until smooth and creamy. Spread frosting over the cooled blondies and then sprinkle the pecans over the top. Chill, still in the pan, for at least an hour before cutting.

Using the foil, lift chilled blondies from the pan and place on a cutting board. Cut into 1 1/2″ squares.

Amanda Formaro is the crafty, entrepreneurial mother of four who loves to bake, cook, make kids' crafts and create decorative items for her home. She is a crafting expert and guru in the kitchen, and is the Home & Garden channel editor for Craft Gossip, and owner of FunFamilyCrafts.com. You can see her crafty creations on Crafts by Amanda and her delicious recipes on Amanda's Cookin'.