Pumpkin-Butterscotch Blondies

I have to admit, this recipe is a bit of a departure for me. When I was developing it, I really wanted to make pumpkin-toffee blondies, but couldn’t find toffee bits anywhere. With a deadline looming and no more stores to try, I grabbed a bag of butterscotch chips instead–you know, those cloying, artificial-tasting bits of wax…
I grew up in the Midwest, eating a lot of artificial crap, though, and nostalgia urged me to open the bag of chips in the car and try a few for old times’ sake. They were super-sweet and artificial, but also familiar in a really comfortable way–conjuring up memories of butterscotch candies sneaked from the candy dish in my dad’s office, soft-serve butterscotch sundaes, and bowls of instant butterscotch pudding. While I hate to admit it, I was instantly hooked.

In developing the actual recipe, I promise that I tempered butterscotch chips’ artificial intensity with plenty of pumpkin, pecans, and actual butter. The finished blondies are really nice and subtle. As for using a processed product rich in fake flavor and partially-hydrogenated palm kernel oil…well, I promise it’s just this once!

Pumpkin-Butterscotch Blondies
Makes 25 squares

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
½ cup canned pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup butterscotch chips
2/3 cup chopped pecans

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8×8 glass baking dish with foil; spray or butter foil. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
2. Place sugars in a large bowl; stir in melted butter. Add eggs, one at a time, whisking to combine. Add pumpkin and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Add dry ingredients to sugar mixture, stirring until just combined. Fold in butterscotch chips and pecans.
3. Transfer batter to prepared pan, smooth top, and bake until edges are lightly golden and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, about 40 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool 1 hour, then use foil to lift blondies from pan and place on rack until completely cool. Remove foil before cutting into squares with a serrated knife

I developed this recipe for iVillage. Image and photo are both property of iVillage.