These pumpkin butter blondies are incredible. They have a subtle pumpkin flavor with a decadent, fudgy texture and the maple glaze is just ya know, the icing on the cake.
If you're looking for other pumpkin-flavored desserts, try our Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.
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Why this recipe works
If you're one of those people who stockpile cans of pumpkin this time of year and are looking for a recipe to use up a can, try these extra chewy blondies.
Honestly, if it was up to me I would eat pumpkin-flavored desserts year-round. (It's me. Hi, I'm the problem, it's me.)
Pumpkin Butter and How I Use It
The star of the show here is the pumpkin butter in my opinion. Pumpkin butter screams cozy, autumnal flavors and I just recently discovered how easy it is to make at home. Half Baked Harvest has a fantastic recipe for pumpkin butter. It's very quick and easy to whip up with only a few ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry this time of year.
I prefer making it homemade vs. store-bought because you can customize the spices and sweetness to your liking without the addition of preservatives, artificial coloring, or flavors. If you use Half Baked Harvest's pumpkin butter recipe, you will have leftovers that you can store in the fridge and spread on toast, pancakes, cinnamon rolls, or anything.
Ingredient Notes
Maple Glaze. If you make your maple glaze in advance, it may start to harden. That's okay. Just return it to the heat and add a little milk until it reaches the desired drippy but thick consistency.
Extra egg yolk. The extra egg yolk is what makes the blondies extra fudgy. If you're ever looking to make a dessert more fudgy, throw in an extra egg yolk.
How to make them
Start by preheating your oven to 350°F. First, mix all of the dry ingredients, flour, baking soda, and salt. Place this aside for later.
Browning the Butter
I brown the butter for this recipe because it enhances the taste and makes a rich, decadent, and nutty flavor. The idea behind browning butter has to do with separating the milk solids and cooking out any water. The milk solids are what actually turn brown.
Take out a small sauce pot and melt 1 cup of butter on medium heat. After a few minutes, it'll start to foam up. Stir frequently to make sure it doesn't burn. If it is turning black, it's too hot. The milk solids should turn a caramel-brown color (as shown above).
If you're feeling like it's getting too hot, pull it off the heat to prevent it from burning. Burning can happen very quickly. Browning the butter takes about 5-10 minutes. I always take my time with this to avoid burning it. Be patient and over-stir!
Combining the ingredients
Once the butter is browned, add it to a large, heat-proof bowl and allow it to cool for a few minutes. Whisk in the brown sugar and vanilla. Next, add the egg and egg yolk and whisk until it is combined.
It is important to wait until the butter is slightly cooled so the eggs don't get funky.
You're going to slowly add your dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir it in until combined and all of the flour has been absorbed. The blondie batter is more of a thick pasty dough.
Line an 8x11-inch pan with parchment paper. Take ¾ of the dough and spread it in an even layer across the pan. We're going to save ¼ of the dough to place on top to make it pretty, instead of just having a layer of pumpkin butter on top.
Spread a thin layer of pumpkin butter evenly across the pan. The pumpkin butter that I use is already spiced. Depending on where you get your pumpkin butter it may not be. If it isn't, I would add pumpkin pie spice and some extra cinnamon.
Finally, take the rest of the dough, break it into small pieces, and press them into patties. Place these across the pumpkin butter in a pattern to make it look like the pumpkin butter is peeking out from underneath.
Then, sprinkle the teaspoon of cinnamon on top and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes.
Maple Glaze
For the best result wait until your pumpkin blondies are completely cooled to make the maple glaze because it will harden and be hard to drizzle.
In a small pot, melt two tablespoons of butter on medium heat. Let the butter cook for about 2-3 minutes. Take it off the heat and whisk in two tablespoons of maple syrup and 1 cup of powdered sugar. Whisk in 1-2 tablespoon of milk, adjusting based on the consistency you prefer. The more milk you add the thinner the glaze will be. I prefer it to be the same consistency as melted peanut butter.
Using forktines or a spoon, drizzle the glaze over the pumpkin butter blondies. Cut into squares and serve. I usually cut into squares first, because the glaze looks better that way. Either way will still taste great.
This recipe will always be on my fall baking list every year and I hope it's on yours too. I've been searching for an autumnal brownie type of dessert and this one is just what I needed. The pumpkin flavor is subtle but doesn't get lost like in a traditional chocolate brownie.
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📖 Recipe
Pumpkin Butter Blondies with Maple Glaze
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cups brown sugar, packed dark or light
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, browned
- ¾ cup pumpkin butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon optional
Maple Glaze
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoon milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8x11- inch pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to make for easy removal.
- In a medium sized bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a small pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Once melted, reduce heat to medium low and continue cooking and stirring frequently until butter turns golden and smells nutty, about 5-10 minutes. Watch closely, you don't want it to burn! Remove from heat and transfer to a microwave safe bowl. Let cool for a few minutes.
- Once the browned butter has slightly cooled, whisk in brown sugar and vanilla. Add in the whole egg and egg yolk and combine until fully incorporated.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until just combined. The dough will be very thick and pasty.
- Spread ¾ of the dough evenly onto your parchment lined pan, saving ¼ of the dough for topping. Spread the pumpkin butter on top of the dough in an even layer. Take the remaining ¼ of dough and form flat pancake-like rounds and place decoratively on top of the pumpkin butter layer. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon (optional)
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until browned on top. Let blondies cool completely before cutting into squares and adding the glaze.
- Make the maple glaze. Melt butter in small saucepan. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes then remove from heat and whisk in maple syrup, powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon milk. Adjust the consistency by adding an additional tablespoon of milk, if needed.
- Cut blondies into squares, drizzle with the maple glaze and enjoy! Blondies will stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 7 days.
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