'Tis the Season: Pumpkin Blondies

No, not that season. Not yet at least.

It's pumpkin season, of course!
Aren't they photogenic?
And so delicious.
But they're not all right for cooking and baking.
What's the best kind to use?

That's right. The kind in a can.
If you want to spend upwards of an hour baking a sugar pumpkin, don't let me stop you. The best thing about doing it yourself is the seeds. The pumpkin flesh is no better than the kind in a can. And you can't beat the convenience.
One Pie is an old New England brand, and it's getting harder to find. I love it for nostalgia's sake (not that my mother ever made a pumpkin pie or anything else with it), but Libby's is great too.
So save yourself the effort and go with the can.
Especially when you want a batch of something fast, like these delicious Pumpkin Blondies.

I made these to take to a meeting earlier this week and was very pleasantly surprised. I was afraid they might come out too cakey for my taste, but not at all. They are moist, spicy and dense.
I love pumpkin bread as much as the next girl (the recipe in Baked is my favorite), but these are a sweet change-up.
The recipe comes from Jamie at My Baking Addiction, a blog so full of irresistible desserts and treats, that I'm having trouble keeping up. Thanks Jamie!

As usual, I subbed in whole wheat pastry flour for some of the white flour. You can use all white flour if you prefer, or if that's all you have.

Pumpkin Blondies
from My Baking Addiction

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. sea salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

2 tsps. vanilla extract

1 15 oz. can pure pumpkin puree

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup pecans (or walnuts), roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line bottom and sides of 9 x 13" baking pan with nonstick foil, leaving an overhang on all sides. Or spray pan well with non-stick baking spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together on medium-high speed until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla, then pumpkin puree, until well combined. Don't worry of the mixture looks curdled.
Reduce speed to low and mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts.
Spread batter evenly in pan. Bake until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached, 35-40 minutes.
Cool completely in pan before cutting into squares.

Peanut Butter and Jam Tart Plus the Keurig Winner

Congratulations Kira!

You're the winner of a Keurig Elite coffeemaker and Dunkin' Donuts K-cups!

Thank you all so much for the comments. It's fun to see how different everyone is when it comes to coffee. ClumberKim, you and I are the closest in our taste. I take it with milk, preferably 1%, but simply cannot drink it with cream or half-and-half. I too would rather have it black. So just for that, Kim, please send me an email with your address and I'll send you a custom Mignardise apron.

Many thanks to all who played!

Growing up, we were a peanut butter-less house.

I know, hard to believe.

My mother made me cream cheese and jelly sandwiches to take to school instead.  

For some reason, I've always thought of this as the Jewish version of pb & j.

I've since come to find out that my father doesn't like peanut butter, which is why, I suppose, we never had any.

Really Dad?  Who doesn't like peanut butter?

(If you have a fatal allergy to peanuts you are totally excused here).

I never questioned it at the time because I didn't really know what I was missing.

If you've been reading Mignardise for awhile (and thank you so much if you have), you know I love the stuff. There have been many peanut butter and chocolate treats, such as this one and this one.

I now consider a peanut butter and jelly strawberry jam sandwich on whole wheat an excellent and somewhat healthy snack. It has that yummy sweet and salty thing going on. Plus, we all know, peanut butter = protein, so it's all ok.

Full disclosure: This is the photo from Food Network because my pictures were horrendously lit.
But honestly, my tart looked exactly the same. I swear.

So when I saw this recipe, it appealed to me immediately.

Could have been that it sounded so simple yet looked so impressive. Impressive in a homey way though, not fancy or precious. I like things that fit that description, don't you?

And it was very, very easy and fast to put together. It tasted like a jacked up sweet version of a pb & j sandwich. It was loved by all - little kids and nostalgic adults. I'd venture to say that even my father might enjoy it.

Then I got to thinking how delicious this might be with a layer of chocolate instead of jam. Because peanut butter and chocolate...well, you know.

Or how about a layer of chocolate then some raspberry jam?

Oh the possibilities!

If you don't have a tart pan with a removable bottom, I think you could use a pie pan. You just won't be able to remove the whole tart for plating.

Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jam Tart

adapted from Food Network Magazine

12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

plus more for greasing the pan (or use nonstick spray for baking)

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour*

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup peanut butter, crunchy or creamy

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cup strawberry jam (or other jam of your choice)

Preheat oven to 350.

Generously butter a 9" flited tart pan with a removable bottom.

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the butter, peanut butter, and both sugars with an electric mixer, until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until well-combined.

Press half the dough into the tart pan. Spread jam over the dough, leaving a 1/2" border around the edge. Use half the remaining dough to form balls of approximately 1 tablespoon each. Place the dough balls on top of the jam, so a bit of the jam is still showing through. Lightly press the rest of the dough around the edge of the tart to form a crust.

Bake until golden brown, 45-50 minutes.

Transfer tart to a rack and let cool completely. Remove ring before serving. 

*As usual, I replaced about half the white flour with whole wheat pastry flour. There is no difference in the taste - just more fiber and nutrients. Feel free to use all white flour if you prefer or that's all you have.