These Pumpkin Blondies are a fudgy fall bar made with pumpkin puree, warm spices, melted butter, chocolate chips, and toasted pecans folded into a dense blondie base.

I make these for potlucks and fall get-togethers where a full cake feels like too much but plain cookies feel like too little.

They also travel well cut into bars, so they’re an easy one to bring somewhere without worrying about frosting smearing everywhere.

They’re perfect for fall baking, Thanksgiving dessert tables, potlucks, bake sales, lunchbox treats, or cozy weekend desserts.

If you’re into easy bar desserts for a crowd, these are worth bookmarking too:

Pumpkin Blondies with Chocolate Chip and Pecans

Ingredients You’ll Need

Canned pumpkin puree, not pie filling, keeps the sweetness in your control and gives the blondies their color and moisture.

Melted butter instead of creamed butter and sugar is what gives blondies that dense, chewy texture instead of a cakey one.

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350F and line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a little overhang for easy removal.
Toast the pecans in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often, until fragrant, then set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter and brown sugar together until smooth.
Add the pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla, whisking until fully combined.
The mixture should look glossy and slightly thickened at this point, that’s a good sign the sugar has dissolved properly.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir just until combined, a few streaks of flour disappearing is fine.
Overmixing at this stage is the most common reason blondies turn out tough instead of fudgy, so stop as soon as the flour is worked in.
Fold in the chocolate chips and about two-thirds of the toasted pecans.
Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula.
Scatter the remaining pecans over the top and press them in gently.
Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, until the edges are set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs, not wet batter.
It’s tempting to bake these longer for a completely clean toothpick, but that overbakes them and you lose the fudgy center.
Let the blondies cool completely in the pan before lifting them out to slice.
They firm up a lot as they cool, cutting too early gives you a soft, crumbly bar instead of a clean square.
Slice into bars and enjoy!

Important Recipe Notes

Don’t overmix the batter. Stir the dry ingredients in just until they disappear, overworking the flour develops gluten and turns these cakey and tough instead of fudgy.
Watch the bake time closely. A toothpick with a few moist crumbs, not a totally clean one, means they’re done. Pulling them at that point is what keeps the center soft.
Toast the pecans first. Raw pecans taste flat against the warm pumpkin spice, a few minutes in a dry skillet brings out much more flavor.

Storage. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or in the fridge for up to a week.
Freezing. These freeze well for up to 3 months, wrap bars individually so you can thaw just what you need.
Make ahead. The batter doesn’t hold well unbaked, but the baked bars freeze beautifully, so bake the full batch and freeze whatever you won’t eat within a few days.

How to Serve, Store & Customize This Recipe

Serving:

These are good at room temperature, cut into squares, with coffee or a glass of milk. A scoop of vanilla ice cream on top turns them into more of a dessert if you’re serving them after dinner.

Storage:

Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or in the fridge for up to a week. They actually taste even better the next day once the spices have settled in.

Customization:

Walnuts work fine in place of pecans, and white chocolate chips are a nice swap if you want something less rich than semisweet. For a spiced-up version, add a pinch of ground ginger along with the pumpkin pie spice.