By Luis and I had dinner alone — the children scattered, the house quiet. We ate at the kitchen table, the table where five children once ate and where two adults now sit with a dog under their feet, and the quiet was not empty. The quiet was full of the noise that used to be here, the noise of children and homework and Camila singing and Diego building, and the full quiet is the gift of a house that held everything and now holds the memory of everything.
After Luis and I finished dinner and the dog had settled and the quiet had done its work on me, I went to the kitchen not because I was hungry but because baking is what I do when I need my hands to be busy and my heart to be still. It’s October and there is pumpkin in the pantry, as there always is this time of year — that’s the rhythm of it, the same cans on the same shelf every fall, the same smell of cinnamon that has filled this kitchen since Camila and Diego were small. These blondies are not a special occasion recipe. They are an every-season recipe, the kind you make because the house is yours and the afternoon is quiet and the smell of something warm baking is its own kind of conversation.
Cinnamon-Sugar Pumpkin Blondies
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 28 minutes | Total Time: 43 minutes | Servings: 16 bars
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- Cinnamon-Sugar Topping: 2 tablespoons granulated sugar + 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, combined
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare. Heat your oven to 350°F. Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan and line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides for easy lifting.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter and brown sugar together until smooth. Add the pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla extract, whisking until fully combined and glossy.
- Add the dry ingredients. Add the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking powder, and salt directly to the bowl. Stir with a spatula until just combined — do not overmix.
- Spread and top. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar topping generously and evenly over the surface.
- Bake. Bake for 25–28 minutes, until the edges are set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs (not wet batter). The center should look barely set.
- Cool and cut. Let the blondies cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes before lifting out with the parchment and cutting into 16 squares. They firm up as they cool.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 148 | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Carbs: 22g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 58mg