Pumpkin Brown Butter Blondies
2
- Prep Time25 mins
- Total Time1 hr
- Makes16 blondies
Recipes and Food Styling by Eshun Mott. Produced by Sun Ngo. Photography by Carmen Cheung. Prop Styling by Madeleine Johari.
It would be great if canned pumpkin were sold in just the right amount to make a pie. But since it isn’t, these blondies are a delicious way to use up the rest. The ribbon of pumpkin butter makes them addictively good.—Eshun Mott
Pumpkin Butter
1 cup canned pumpkin purée
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp kosher salt
Blondies
1 1⁄4 cups (284 g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 1⁄2 cups (330 g) all-purpose flour
1 1⁄2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups (360 g) lightly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted and divided
Instructions
Pumpkin Butter: Combine pumpkin purée with granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and 1⁄4 tsp salt in a medium saucepan set over medium-low. Cook, stirring often, until mixture has darkened and resembles cooked pumpkin pie filling, 6 to 8 min. (You will have about 3⁄4 cup.) Set aside.
Position rack in centre of oven, then preheat to 350F. Line a 9 × 13-in. baking pan with parchment.
Blondies: Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium. When butter becomes foamy, stir often until it smells nutty and turns dark brown, about 4 min. Immediately remove from heat and strain into a medium heatproof bowl. Set aside to cool.
Stir flour with 1 1⁄2 tsp salt, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl. Set aside.
Add brown sugar to browned butter. Whisk in eggs, egg yolk and vanilla until mixture is well combined. Scrape butter mixture into flour mixture and stir until all flour has been incorporated and no clumps remain. (Batter will be very thick.)
Scoop about two-thirds of batter into prepared pan, then spread into an even layer with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Sprinkle batter evenly with 1⁄2 cup pecans. Dollop pumpkin butter in small spoonfuls overtop, then spread into a thin layer. Dollop spoonfuls of remaining batter over pumpkin layer, then smooth as best you can. (Damp fingers can help.) Sprinkle remaining 1⁄4 cup pecans overtop.
Bake until top is puffy, golden and set, about 35 min. Cool completely before cutting into squares.
Kitchen tip
It can be hard to tell when blondies are fully baked. If you have a meat thermometer, look for an internal temperature of about 210F.