Pumpkin Blondies

I had such high hopes for these after seeing the recipe on Annie's Eats. After all, she got them off of the Martha Stewart website (for pumpkin-chocolate chip squares). I love the spiciness and flavor of pumpkin bread, so I thought these would be even better. They weren't. I can't believe I could be so disappointed with a Martha Stewart recipe, but I was. They come out more cakelike than blondie-like (which are more dense) and the flavor just wasn't there. I could barely taste the pumpkin, let alone the spices. The only good part about the whole thing was the butterscotch chips I put in them. Without those, they really would be too bland.

I'm not sure exactly what the problem is. Maybe swapping out the white sugar for brown sugar would give it a deeper flavor, that and doubling the amount of spices. I don't know. But, I think I'll stick with my own pumpkin bread recipe from now on. That's always a sure-fire pleaser.

Pumpkin Blondies

2 c. flour
1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
16 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 1/4 c. sugar (or brown sugar)
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. pumpkin puree
2 c. butterscotch chips

Grease a 9x13 pan. Combine dry ingredients. Cream butter and sugar and add the egg and vanilla. Add the pumpkin. Add dry ingredients and stir in the chips. Pour into pan and bake 35-40 min.

Our Family's Pumpkin Loaves

2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
2 c. sugar
3/4 c. butter
1 (1 lb.) can pumpkin
2 eggs

Sift all dry ingredients together. Cream butter and sugar and add the eggs. Add the pumpkin. Add flour mixture. Bake in two large loaf pans for 1 hour and 15 min. at 325F.

Update 3/27 - I took these to my ward's Munch n' Mingle today and there wasn't a single one left! So, it seems that I may have been a little too critical of them, since other people really enjoyed them. Oh, and chilling them in the fridge really helps to make them more dense like blondies should be.