These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars are FUDGY just like brownies! You could also call them Pumpkin Blondies. They have the perfect balance of pumpkin flavor, cinnamon-y spices, and warm dark chocolate. They’re made in a pot on the stove and are super fast and easy! The melted butter makes them so soft and fudgy. Originally published October 30, 2011.
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We were eating these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars the other night, and Truman said he was too full from dinner to eat one. “If I eat one of those right now, I will get sick!”
Charlotte, stuffing a huge bite into her mouth, said, “It’s worth it.”
And that my friends, exactly describes the personality differences between my kids, haha! Charlotte is a little unreasonable when it comes to sugar…just like her mother.
How’s everyone doing this week? Ready for Halloween? We are just gathering up the odds and ends for all our costumes. Eric and I decided last night that going as gnomes sounded pretty easy. Talk to me later this week when I am frantically trying to hot glue felt together to make a pointy hat. I am not a crafty person!!
If you are going to any Halloween events this week, might I suggest these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars? They are super fudgy and delicious, and I promise even if you eat too many and make yourself sick…it’ll be worth it.
You’ll love these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies!
I love these bars because they are so fast! There’s no fuss, just mix it all up, dump it in a pan, and throw it in the oven.
You don’t even need a stand mixer or mixing bowl. We’re doing it all in a pot on the stove! We want brownie texture for these pumpkin bars. Say no to cakey bars! These are pumpkin bars, not cake. Kind of like pumpkin brownies.
Pumpkin Blondies Recipe Ingredients
Here’s a quick list of what you’ll need for these pumpkin bars. Scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for complete instructions and more details!
- butter
- pumpkin pie spice
- granulated sugar
- brown sugar
- canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
- vanilla
- Kosher salt
- egg
- flour
- baking powder
- semisweet chocolate chips
- dark chocolate chips
How to make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars
Melted butter is the answer! Most recipes for pumpkin chocolate chip bars call for creaming together the butter and sugar, like you would for cookies. But just like melted butter makes for a chewier and fudgier brownie, the same is true for these bars.
You can brown the butter if you like. Just keep cooking over medium heat until the mixture foams, and then turns brown and smells nutty. It’s super delicious and adds flavor! Your bars will be a little more brown and less orange. I like it both ways! See notes for details.
Whether you are just melting or choose to brown, take a second to toast your pumpkin pie spice in the butter while it is still bubbly. I learned this trick while researching for my Homemade Spice Cake. Just like toasting spices in oil when you are cooking helps “wake up” the flavor, the same applies here, and since we have the hot butter anyway, may as well take advantage and liven up that cinnamon.
If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, I included the measurements for how much cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, etc, you will need in the recipe notes.
Add in brown and white sugar, and the pumpkin puree.
Pumpkin acts like an egg
When making brownies, we use lots of eggs (usually 4 eggs, for a 9×13 inch pan) to get that chewy texture, rather than a fluffy, cakey texture.
But this recipe only calls for 1 egg. What??
It’s because of the magical pumpkin. Pumpkin is this funny ingredient that acts kind of like an egg when you bake it. It’s the reason why your pumpkin cookies often come out more cakey than chewy. (There is a time and a place for cakey pumpkin cookies, and also a time for chewy pumpkin cookies!)
The combination of melted butter and only using 1 egg in the recipe makes these the fudgiest pumpkin bars in all the land.
After adding in the egg, vanilla, and salt, add in some flour and baking powder. I actually tried this once without the baking powder. My favorite brownie recipes have zero leavening in them: no baking soda, baking powder, zip, zero zilch. It just makes your brownies more fluffy and less fudgy.
So I thought it would do the same for these pumpkin blondies. But they turned out oddly…spongey? They were still good, but I much preferred the batch with the baking powder.
Lastly, make sure you don’t melt your chocolate chips. The batter is warm from the melted butter and your chips will start to melt and swirl into the batter right away. My hack is to put the warm batter in the pan, then sprinkle chocolate chips on top and gently fold them in, right in the pan. I like to use a mix of dark and semisweet chocolate, but any chocolate will do!
Adding white chocolate chips would be a fun twist! I haven’t tried that but if you are a white chocolate fan I bet it would be awesome. Pumpkin and white chocolate definitely lend themselves to each other. (Read more about how to find real white chocolate at the store on this Penuche Fudge post.)
How to store Pumpkin Bars with Chocolate Chips
These bars are great stored on the counter at room temperature. You can refrigerate them if you prefer, just warm one up in the microwave before messily devouring. They freeze well, so if you want to save them for later, just pop them (completely cooled) into a ziplock or tupperware container and they’ll stay good for 2-3 months.
I posted these bars way back in 2011 when I first started my blog. Here’s the old photo from yesteryear!
More pumpkin desserts you should try out!
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins >> these are basically the muffin version of these bars, which means you get to eat them for breakfast!!
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins << everyone’s favorite thing to bake in the fall!
- Pumpkin Butterscotch Molten Lava Cakes << just like lava cakes, but fall flavored! So good.
- Easy Pumpkin Pie Cake << Cake? Pie? Why not both??
- Paul’s Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting << this is actually cake, but that’s what Paul called them :)
- Butterscotch Pumpkin Cake << butterscotch and pumpkin: the best combo ever!
- Pumpkin Roll Recipe << the classic rolled up swirly cake! the best.
- Easy Pumpkin Dump Cake << this recipe is so fast and a huge crowd pleaser
- Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake << This is so fun to make for Thanksgiving
- Easy Pumpkin Crispy Treats from Yummy Healthy Easy
- Pecan Praline Pumpkin Cake from The View From Great Island
- Pumpkin Spice Meringue Pumpkins from 365 Days of Baking
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Fudgy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars (Pumpkin Blondies)
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, (2 sticks)
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice*
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 (8-oz) cup pumpkin, canned (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla, I like Mexican vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large egg
- 2 cups all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×13 inch pan with nonstick spray, or line with parchment paper. I like to line with paper so that I can lift the bars out later for easy slicing.
- In a medium saucepan, melt 1 cup of butter** over medium heat. I used salted butter, but unsalted works great too!
- When the butter is still bubbly and hot, add in 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice* (see notes for other spices). Let the spices toast in the pan for just a few seconds, then remove the pan from heat.
- Stir in 1 cup sugar and 1 cup packed brown sugar.
- Add in 1 cup pumpkin puree from a can. Don't use the whole can! Don’t use pumpkin pie filling! (Use the rest of the can to make pumpkin cookies!)
- Add 2 teaspoons vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt.
- Add 1 egg and stir vigorously right away so that it doesn’t curdle. If your butter/sugar mixture is still super hot, you might want to consider waiting a couple minutes to add the egg.
- Add 2 cups flour, spooned and leveled, but don’t stir yet. Add 1 teaspoon baking powder to the flour and use the teaspoon to stir it into the flour.
- Stir in the flour until most of the lumps are gone, but do not over beat. Just like brownies, you want to get all the ingredients incorporated, but you don’t want to mix it so much that you end up with tough pumpkin bars. See photos. Don’t add the chocolate chips yet.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread to the edges.
- Sprinkle 1 cup semisweet and 1 cup dark chocolate chips over the top. Use your spatula to gently fold them in so that they are incorporated into the batter. (If you mix the chocolate chips into the warm batter, they will melt right away)
- Bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes. They are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with no wet batter on it.*** The edges should be pulling slightly from the sides of the pan.
- Let cool*** before lifting the paper from the pan and slicing. (or just dig in while they're hot, I'm no judge.)
- Keep leftover bars stored on the counter, tightly sealed. They will keep for 2-3 days before getting dried out.
- These bars freeze well! Store in a sealed ziplock and freeze for up to 3 months. Let thaw in the sealed bag on the counter.
Notes
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice, optional
I followed the recipe exactly (even browned butter for the first time ever) and they turned out perfect! I was a bit nervous after reading the comments and it definitely looked more moist than I expected when I took it out of the oven. But the toothpick came out clean and we waited 15 minutes for it to cool and then I let my kids at it. They all went back for seconds, it was a hit! Definitely need a glass of milk with this but I wouldn’t change a thing, it was delicious!
Side note: very few dishes to clean up after making this. Bonus points for that!
Hooray! So glad these were a hit Anne! I’m glad you decided to give it a shot, there have been a few commenters with bad experiences lately and I don’t get it, I even made these again last week just to double check everything was okay! They turned out great, so I’m glad they were a win for you too. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and review, that’s so kind and helpful!
I used 1/2 cup less sugar and a 1/2 cup less chocolate chips after reading comments and I am glad I did. The flavor was very good with less. I am very confused by the texture of these bars. My toothpick came out clean when I removed them from the oven but they seem half raw in texture. The edge pieces are the best. I might try these again and put in less butter or another egg to get fudgy but not raw. They all got eaten up so everyone liked the flavor!
My family LOVES this recipe. I was wondering if it would be possible to substitute vegetable oil for the butter to make this for a dairy-free audience? I guess it wouldn’t have the delicious brown butter taste, which I love. Thanks so much, these are a fall classic! 😍
Hi Vivi! The taste would definitely be different, and I’m sure you would miss the brown butter, but it’s probably worth a try. If you do it, come back and let us know how it turns out. We love hearing from you!
These are so delicious! Love the recipe!
a fail
followed your recipe to the T
after 30 minutes the toothpick came out clean and the edges started browning and pulling.
after they were cool enough to cut, the pumpkin was not cooked and mushy, rebuked for 10 minutes, pumpkin still wet and mushy
going on my 2nd extra 10 minutes.
will not make again
Hi Diane!! nooo I’m so sorry this happened to you! Such a bummer. It was just underbaked, it sounds like. Was the oven at 350? Did you insert the toothpick in several locations? It’s always such a bummer under baking because there is really no fix. Once it comes out of the oven, putting it back in doesn’t help usually. so sad! Next time make sure your oven is at 350 (do you have an oven thermometer?) and check with that toothpick in several spots, making sure it’s not just chocolate you’re pulling up.
I use fresh pumpkin and i weighed it with my scale. came out perfect
Love it! I doubled recipe 😊
Did some adjustments
Used 1 c butter 3/4 c oil
For the flour I did 3c and 1 c quick cooking oats (more fiber) with 2 xl eggs and 1&1/2 cups of mini semi sweet
So I made pumpkin blonde bars.. and
I’m not if I did something incorrect,
But it was very dense. And tasted more like a bread.
Oh no Aly! I’m so sorry! These should not be dense at all, but super fudgy. I’m wondering if you remembered to scoop and level your flour? Also important to let these bars cool for a bit before slicing.
At first I thought maybe the inside was raw because it was so gooey (even tho my toothpicks came out clean!). It wasn’t the most pleasant to eat warm. But once it cooled I was converted!! It’s a lovely fudgey texture, just as you promised, and the flavors are so perfect for fall. I will be making these again!
I made these today. I’m a chocolate lover for sure, but this is way too much, and I didn’t even use the full amount. It’s causing the batter to not fully bake. I stopped at It’s tastes good though. I stopped at 40 minutes because I didn’t want some parts to overtake while others spots with more chocolate were underdone.
Hi Heather, sorry these didn’t turn out the way you expected! These are definitely VERY fudgy, not cakey, so it may be that the texture isn’t to your liking. They also need to cool completely before eating if you don’t want them to be extremely soft. I hope your next pumpkin baking venture turns out perfectly!
I followed the recipe as is, it definitely is not fudgy at all and I wouldn’t call these brownies.
I baked them for 25 mins and they were very moist but they have more like a loaf cake texture.
that said, I will still make them again cause I enjoyed them a lot and they were delicious!
New to your site and love it! Made these bars for the chocolate lovers at this year’s Thanksgiving table and they loved them! Soooo delicious! Also appreciate the ease of prep. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes
These were nowhere near done after 25-30 minutes. Closer to 45. You need to let completely cool. I will try halving the chocolate next time, as it was too much.
Made these for a church Bible study today. They are amazing! I did need to bake for around 38 minutes. I love your recipes! Made the scones that were a huge hit too!
Thanks for all your tips and suggestions. You’re one of the few on Pinterest I follow. ❤️
Karen, I think it’s BRILLIANT to make these with brown butter, and to bloom the spices in the butter! Once again you’re over the top, and what a lovely view it is from there!!!
WOW!!! We’ve loved ALL of your recipes, but this one TOTALLY hit it out of the ballpark!!! These are SO DELICIOUS!!!!! The instructions are carefully worded to make them turn out very tender and well baked. We LOVE THESE!!!!
You put so much effort into creating fantastic meals for us all that I hate to tell you of any modifications. In this case, I think you might consider it okay. I added a handful of those delightful tiny Kraft caramel bits when I added the chocolate chips. I love caramel, and for me it added a wonderful touch.
Thanks for giving me my new Favorite Fall Recipe!!! I’ll bet I make these 6 times by Halloween! (That’s SCARY!)
Hi. Did you use salted or unsalted butter?
Hi Farzin! I like to use salted butter, but either kind will work!
These are absolutely delicious! Easy recipe!
These have a great texture and consistency, but it was lacking any complex flavors. Tasted very sweet without being anything interesting or special. I wouldn’t make these again.