We are in the midst of fall in Ohio. Fall is my favorite season of the year. I love the chill in the air, creative fall fashion, and the warming spices featured in many fall dishes. Pumpkin pie spice is one of my favorite spice blends to use in baked goods. I love sprinkling the spice blend into desserts and drinks. Most of the time, when I’m using pumpkin pie spice in my desserts, I like to pair it with pumpkin puree. Pumpkin puree works wonders as a replacement for eggs in baked goods or as an additional ingredient helping keep desserts moist. Whether it’s a crumb cake, gingerbread house, pancakes, or rolls, I absolutely love finding ways to incorporate pumpkin spice into as many treats as possible around this time of year. Over the weekend, I combined both pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice into yet another one of my favorite treats – blondies. I only make blondies occasionally because they are very indulgent. Out of all of the baked goods I make, blondies are one of Kevin’s favorite baked desserts. He isn’t a huge fan of baked goods, but definitely loves an occasional blondie, cookie, or pastry. Over the years, I put a lot of spins on my traditional brown sugar blondies including a chai tea version. This weekend, I made a vegan version featuring pumpkin spice blend and some pumpkin puree. It’s the perfect long weekend dessert to bake and snack on throughout the weekend. My version of blondies has a fudge like texture and is beyond addicting. I like to pair a piece of blondie with a cup of black tea for an afternoon treat. The tea helps offset the sweetness of the blondie. Kevin snacked on two pieces before I packed the rest away and stored them in the refrigerator. If I left the blondies on the table, I can’t guarantee the blondies would still be there an hour later. Keeping them out of sight at least temporarily keep them out of our minds. We relaxed for the rest of the afternoon before heading to check out BLINK in downtown Cincinnati later in the evening. BLINK is a cultural display and light show spanning parts of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Neither of us had ever been to BLINK and wanted to check it out for ourselves. The evening was on the chillier side, so I brought along my fall coat and scarf. Kevin just had on a sweater even though I suggested he wear a coat. There were crowds of people walking through all of the streets in downtown Cincinnati. Kevin and I lost track of time as we walked by the Cincinnati Reds stadium, Fountain Square, and Roebling Bridge. There were walls with projectors displaying visual and artistic images. The sides of buildings were turned into silent films. People were waving glow sticks, lighted balloons, flickering necklaces, and any other light display you could think of. There were even tents set up along the river. We walked through the displays, enjoyed the art, and conversed all night as we dodged through crowds of people. A couple hours later, we finally headed back to our car to head home. When we got back home, I had a craving for another treat and ended up eating another piece of blondie before retiring to bed for the evening. My pumpkin spice blondies were an irresistible treat to end a chilly fall day.
Brown Sugar Blondies:
· ½ cup vegetable oil
· 1 cup dark brown sugar
· ½ cup granulated sugar
· ½ cup pumpkin puree
· 1 cup all-purpose flour
· ½ teaspoon baking powder
· ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
· 1 cup dairy free semisweet chocolate chips
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8 x 8 baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
2) In a large bowl, combine the vegetable oil, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth and fluffy. Add the pumpkin puree and mix until blended. Fold in the flour, baking powder, and salt until the ingredients are just combined. Fold in the semisweet chocolate chips.
3) Pour the batter into the parchment lined 8 x 8 baking pan. Use a spatula to smooth out the top. Place the baking pan in the oven for 35-40 minutes, until the blondies are golden brown and baked through.
Takeaways: My pumpkin spice blondies are very moist and fudge like. I prefer blondies with a fudge like texture over a cake like texture. The pumpkin puree worked very well as a replacement for eggs. The vegetable oil also worked wonders as a replacement for butter. For a more traditional blondie, check out my brown sugar blondies. For another fall spin, try my chai tea blondies.
