This Thanksgiving dessert was my sister-in-law Mimi’s idea (that’s what my baby daughter calls her). And even though she’s a very athletic teenager this year (Mimi’s part of the junior varsity basketball team at her school, which requires two hours of training every day), her guilty pleasure is any kind of sweet treats. She’s making a list of the desserts we should be serving next Thursday and she absolutely wants this one to be included. This week, we tested the blondie recipe with a spiced pumpkin puree topping. The only way to incorporate pumpkin was to create a little swirl.
Baking with kids is so much fun. It’s a great way to introduce them to new flavors and educate them about what they eat. And kids love to make and eat the results of their hard work.
1. Info for Butterscotch Blondie with Pumpkin
- Cook Time: unavailable
- Total Time: unavailable
- Servings: 24
- Calories: unavailable
2. Ingredients for Butterscotch Blondie with Pumpkin
- 4 eggs
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon extract
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened to room temperature, + extra for greasing the molds
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 1 clove, ground into fine powder
- 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
- 1½ cups butterscotch chips, dusted with flour
3. Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- For the pumpkin purée:
- In a bowl, combine ⅓ cup granulated sugar, nutmeg, clove, ½ teaspoon cinnamon extract, anise extract, ginger and pumpkin purée. Stir well and set aside.
- For the blondie batter:
- In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs with the remaining granulated sugar for about 5-6 minutes. It will become a pale yellow foam. Add ¼ cup brown sugar, vanilla and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon extract.
- In a bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder. Sift all the dry ingredients.
- Cream the butter with the remaining brown sugar (whisk using a stand mixer to get as much air as possible in the butter). Add the egg mixture and the dry ingredients. Mix well.
- Assembly:
- Add 3 tablespoons blondie batter to the pumpkin mixture. Stir well until uniform.
- Divide the blondie batter into 4 mini (6″ x 3″) non-stick rectangular molds, previously greased with butter. Add butterscotch chips and top with the pumpkin mixture.
- Swirl the pumpkin mixture and bake the blondies for 5 minutes at 375°F, then lower the temperature to 350°F and bake for another 34-38 minutes.
- Allow the blondies to cool completely. Divide each rectangle into thirds, then cut each piece in half.
- Serve with a nice hot tea.
- Enjoy!
4. Tips and advices:
- FYI: 1 cup of butter = 16 tablespoons = 2 sticks of butter. To guarantee quality baked goods, use the best butter you can find.
- I use McCormick cinnamon and anise extracts. If you don’t have any, you can use star anise seeds. Dry roast them and grind them finely in a mortar and pestle and do the same with cinnamon sticks.
