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Right on the cusp between cakey and chewy, this pumpkin blondies recipe is made with brown butter for nuttiness and an extra egg yolk for added richness. White chocolate chips and chopped nuts make the perfect match for the sweet pumpkin and warm spices. Even better, you can make the whole recipe with a bowl and a spatula, no mixer required!
A friend recently went to Trader Joe’s to stock up on all of their fall seasonal items. And while TJ’s is usually pretty well known for their seasonal treats, she said she was pretty disappointed with their pumpkin blondies.
She said they weren’t chewy at all and were more like pumpkin bread. And we love a good pumpkin bread recipe, but not when you’re expecting a blondie bar instead.
Getting a chewy texture from pumpkin baked goods is tricky due to the moisture in the pumpkin puree. But after playing around quite a bit, I found that you just need a few little tweaks to make blondies that fall right on the edge between cakey and chewy.
Throw these together on a weeknight or for a fall party. They’ll be gone in no time at all!
Jamie’s testing notes and tips
- Skip the granulated sugar. When testing this pumpkin blondie recipe, I found that using all brown sugar gave the bars a chewier texture than when I used a mix of brown and granulated sugar. You also get a richer flavor, which is never a bad thing in my book!
- Add an extra egg yolk. Just like in my cookie butter cookies recipe, using an extra egg yolk in addition to the whole egg makes the blondies slightly more dense in the best way, similar to my apple cider blondies.
- Brown the butter. There’s nothing quite like the flavor of browned butter in fall baked goods. The nuttiness of the brown butter is perfection with the pumpkin, warm spices, and white chocolate. It’s worth the few extra minutes of prep time!
- Don’t over-bake. The more you bake the blondies, the more they will dry out and lose that chewy, dense texture we want. When in doubt, a little bit under-baked and gooey is better than over-baked and dry!
A note from Jamie
2026 update: I first shared a recipe for pumpkin blondies on here way back in 2010. Even though readers loved the flavor of the bars, they said the recipe felt more like a cake and wished it had a chewier texture. I have since revisited the recipe and tweaked it for a better texture. But if you loved the original, don’t worry—you can still find that original recipe over at pumpkin chocolate chip snack cake!
Ingredient notes
⬇️ For the full recipe, including ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card below!
- Unsalted butter: This will get browned before using it, so cold from the fridge is just fine. If you’ve never done this before, I walk you through how to brown butter in the recipe card — it’s a trick you’ll use over and over!
- Light brown sugar: If you only have granulated sugar on hand, you can add molasses to make brown sugar. If your brown sugar hardened in the pantry, learn how to soften brown sugar with a few easy methods.
- Egg: As mentioned above, you’ll use 1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk.
- Canned pumpkin: A full 15-ounce can of pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. (Check out my other recipes that use a full can of pumpkin for more fall goodness!)
- Vanilla: Extract or vanilla bean paste.
- All-purpose flour: Make sure you know how to measure flour correctly before you start baking so your pumpkin blondies turn out perfect every time!
- Pumpkin spice: This is what gives the blondies all of the warmth we love in other pumpkin recipes like pumpkin cheesecake and a classic pumpkin pie. I like to whip up a batch of my homemade pumpkin pie spice recipe at the beginning of fall and use it throughout the season, but your favorite store-bought brand works just fine!
- Baking soda: We don’t want a lot of lift in these blondies or else we risk them becoming too cakey, but we still need a little bit of baking soda.
- Mix-ins: I like a mix of white chocolate chips and chopped pecans. But you can use any other mix-ins you like! Butterscotch chips, dried cranberries, and cinnamon chips would all be delicious.
Storage
Make sure to let the pumpkin blondies cool completely before you slice and store them. Keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. (I actually think they’re even better the next day!)
If you’d like to freeze them, wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze in a zip-top bag for up to a month. Thaw at room temperature for a couple of hours or unwrap and pop them in the microwave for 30-60 seconds to thaw and warm the bars through.
Pumpkin Blondies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 ½ cups lightly packed light brown sugar
- 1 large whole egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 (15-ounce) can pure pumpkin puree
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ cups white chocolate chips
- ¾ cup roughly chopped pecans optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13-inch pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Brown the butter: Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan or skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently. Once melted, allow the butter to continue cooking over medium heat, stirring frequently. As it cooks, the butter will begin to foam and then subside. Brown specks will begin to form at the bottom of the pan and the butter will take on a nutty aroma. As soon as the butter reaches your desired color, immediately remove it from the heat and pour it into a bowl to cool for about 15 minutes.1 cup unsalted butter
- In a large bowl, whisk together the browned butter, brown sugar, eggs, pumpkin, and vanilla until smooth and well combined.1 ½ cups lightly packed light brown sugar, 1 large whole egg , 1 egg yolk, 1 (15-ounce) can pure pumpkin puree, 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Add the flour, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and baking soda; stir to combine. Fold in the chocolate chips and pecans.2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice, ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 ½ cups white chocolate chips, ¾ cup roughly chopped pecans
- Spread the batter evenly in the prepared baking pan. Bake for 35 minutes, or just until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not overbake.
- Set on a wire rack to cool before slicing.
Notes
Ingredients
- White chocolate chips can be swapped for dark chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips, if desired.
Storage
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Frequently asked questions
If you’re out of pumpkin pie spice and don’t have all of the ingredients to make your own, you can simply use ground cinnamon. If you’re able, I recommend using 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of ground ginger, but even just using cinnamon will work in a pinch!
More fall bar dessert recipes
If you love these pumpkin blondies, check out some of my other great bar dessert recipes for fall!
Pumpkin pecan pie bars bring everything you love about pecan pie and pumpkin pie together into one delicious recipe.
Apple crisp bars give you the streusel topping that everyone loves on a crisp, but in a hand-held version that travels better to Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving celebrations.
Brown butter is one of my favorite fall ingredients because the warm nuttiness just tastes like autumn to me. My brown butter blondies recipe really hits all the right notes this time of year!
Love pumpkin cheesecake but want a variation on it? My pumpkin cheesecake bars recipe adds a streusel topping and is SO good.
And of course we can’t forget the classic pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting! They’re a fall favorite for a reason!
I’m going to try this out for the weekend
I followed the recipe exactly but did not get blondies out of it. However what i got was the moistest tenderest most delicious cake i have ever made. So 5 stars non the less.
Very tasty. Loved the spice balance. I would call this a snacking cake rather than a blondie
Made these last week and they were wonderful. I used white chips and toasted pecans and was very pleased with how they turned out. I really enjoy regular blondies as well as pumpkin spice food/drinks so this was right up my alley.
I am so happy to hear you enjoy this recipe! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
I accidentally used pumpkin pie mix instead of pumpkin purée and managed to get good results. I discovered my mistake before I added the sugar. I adjusted the sugar down, used 1/2 cup each of brown and white sugar.
What happened is I had what I thought was a can of pumpkin purée in my pantry for almost a year, but it was really pumpkin pie mix. I had already mixed the dry ingredients when I realized what happened and decided to forge ahead with the recipe.
Glad you enjoyed even with the small snafu! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your feedback. Happy baking!
Jamie
These are a delicious Fall treat. I browned the butter before mixing with the sugar, hoping the melted butter would yield a denser/more gooey result but they were still more cake than blondie. I think the pumpkin likely yields the cake-like result. That being said, they are still delicious and I will make them again!
So glad you enjoyed the blondies, Sam! If you want a more chewy/gooey blondie, check out my brown butter blondies: https://www.mybakingaddiction.com/brown-butter-blondies/ Happy baking!
Jamie
Oh my! So delicious! Made these as a special treat for my hardworking husband. The combo of spices is spot on. Definitely more cakey than dense – but perfect for my hubs. He loves them! Especially with a dollop of vanilla ice cream on top! Thanks for the great recipe!
So happy to hear you enjoyed them, Dawn!
Like other reviewers, I agree that this is most definitely more of a cake than blondie. AND, it is moist, delicious, and excellent with ☕️. I’d recommend Ghirardelli mini bittersweet chocolate chips as opposed to larger chips as the bittersweet offsets the sweetness of the cake. I’d still like to find something that has more of a blondie chewy cookie bar texture. That said, a friend of mine tried one and asked if she could buy 1/2 tray from me. : )
Made these over the weekend and they are already gone! Very delectable! Thanks for the recipe!
So happy to hear you enjoyed the blondies, Robin! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie