Stay with me here, as we jump into the already crowded field of pumpkin-mania…This entry is a keeper. I knew I was onto a winner when the batter tasted like pumpkin pie filling, before it’s baked. With an intentional light hand with the spices, there’s plenty of pumpkin flavor. And when highlighted by chocolate chips, you have one of my favorite pairings.
The sugar content is dialed down to a mere half cup. The addition of walnuts steer it toward a slightly healthy-ish direction. Hence I’ve dubbed these “snack bars” rather than a cookie or cake. Clever me! The bars are plenty sweet enough to qualify for “treat” status, but enjoy them anytime.
I envision a future batch with a streusel topping to land it into breakfast territory; or a drizzle of melty chocolate frosting to fancy it up a bit. The batter is sturdy enough to hold a handful of dried cranberries for a festive, seasonal version. By all means, do with it what you will.
P.S. I see a very easy, direct substitution of mashed, ripe bananas in place of the pumpkin puree. This idea comes to me as I stare upon about six very speckled bananas on the counter. Of course then we call them Banana Chocolate Snack Bars – another favorite pairing.
Anytime Pumpkin Chocolate Snack Bars
Makes one 9 x 9-inch pan
Ingredients
- 3/ 4 cup pumpkin puree; canned is fine
- 1/ 2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1/ 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/ 4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/ 4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/ 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Line a 9 x 9-inch pan with aluminum foil and butter lightly. The easiest way I’ve found to do this neatly is to invert the pan and cover it with a 12 x 12-inch sheet of foil. Carefully fold the corners as if wrapping a gift box. Gently lift the foil off of the pan, turn the pan right-side-up, and then tuck the perfectly molded foil neatly into the pan.
- Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- Measure the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl; stir or whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Combine the pumpkin and sugar into a large bowl and mix to blend. Either a sturdy hand whisk or electric mixer does the job. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix well to incorporate into the batter. Add the spices, mixing until they are evenly distributed. Add the melted butter and mix until smooth.
- Slowly add the flour mixture and mix until fully incorporated. When the batter is smooth, taking care to not over-mix it, add in the chocolate chips and nuts. Stir to combine well. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before cutting. I cut into 16 bars, each about 2-1/ 4 inch square, but I’ll leave the particulars to you!
