Caramel and Pumpkin Blondies

        It has happened. The first can of Pumpkin puree has been opened, and there's no going back now. It is officially fall (yes, any time before this was, in fact, not fall yet). The perks of being military overseas is that thousands of families all shop at the one same grocery store! yay! Even though its early in the game-as it it merely October-the commissary shelves are already completely wiped clean of canned pumpkin. Luckily I have a small stockpile from all the other years of living here and preparing for the commissary pumpkin apocalypse, which is what aided the creation of these desserts last night.
         Another fun fact about the commissary's pumpkin supply is that they do not stock regular sized cans. You know, the some odd 15 oz cans that EVERY SINGLE RECIPE EVER calls for. Instead they stock double sized cans, which either means you must save half the can (or more, even) OR double all of your recipes. Basically, probably within the next two days, be expecting at least one to two more pumpkin recipes to be featured on this blog. I already have my next two recipes picked out....

         You need to eat these. Whether you make them or not, make sure they end up in your mouth at one point or another that's what she said. sorry.  The caramel is absolutely perfect, the bars come out super moist and pretty, and everything is wonderful. Just the slightest hint of chocolate, perfectly gooey caramel that's neither too hard nor too runny.....

just.


perfect.


I had one as soon as I came home from work, and now hours later I just ate another one because typing this blog post was too much to handle without eating another one.

Caramel Pumpkin Blondies

FOR THE BLONDIES:

¾ cups Butter, Softened

1 cup Packed Brown Sugar

2 whole Eggs

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 cup Pumpkin Puree

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

½ teaspoons Nutmeg

1-¾ cup All-purpose Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

¼ teaspoons Salt

FOR THE FILLING:

½ cups Chopped Walnuts* I made mine without nuts

¼ cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

14 ounces, weight Caramels, Unwrapped (1 Bag)

¼ cups Heavy Cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9×13 pan with non stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in eggs, vanilla and pumpkin until combined. Slowly incorporate the remaining ‘blondies’ ingredients into the batter. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly to ensure a smooth batter. Spread about 2/3 of the batter evenly into the prepared pan.

For the filling: Sprinkle nuts* and chocolate chips over top of the batter.

Place caramels and cream into a heat-proof bowl. Microwave on high until caramel is smooth and completely melted, being sure to stir every 20 seconds. Stop as soon as it’s melted and smooth.

Pour melted caramel over chocolate and nuts*. Spread around evenly with a butter knife or spoon. Place dollops of the remaining batter over the top of the caramel layer. Spread those dollops out to try and get a smooth layer of batter over top. (It’s fine if some of the caramel layer is peeking through).

Bake for 25 minutes or until edges are golden and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted. (It might come out with a little caramel on it which is fine. You don’t want batter on the toothpick).

Cool completely before serving. Or be prepared to get a whole lot of oozing caramel if you serve it warm.

If desired, serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Can sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon for presentation purposes but also are just fine without :) 

-Sweet Sarah 

Found at Tasty Kitchen