Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars — The Chocolate Tradition That Started Before He Could Blow Out His Own Candles

The Singh-family Holi gathering was Saturday March 16. The dessert table was successful. The new orange-and-cardamom-shortbread joined the small-Singh-family-dessert-rotation. The nursery setup at the apartment is complete. Brayden is one hundred and twenty-eight weeks old. The pumpkin chocolate chip bars are the recipe Brayden has been requesting for two years now.

The pumpkin chocolate chip bars are a fall-classic that has become a Brayden-staple — a soft pumpkin-spice-bar base studded with chocolate-chips, baked in a 9x13 pan, cut into squares. The bars are the small intersection of fall-spice and chocolate that pleases all ages and that Brayden has been pointing at and saying “more” to since he was thirteen months old.

The technique question on a pumpkin-bar is the pumpkin-puree-moisture-management. Canned pumpkin puree releases moisture during the bake. The fix is reducing the wet-ingredient-quantities elsewhere in the recipe (a smaller amount of oil, a smaller amount of milk) to compensate for the pumpkin’s contributed moisture.

Sunday I made a 9x13 pan. Brayden had a small square (he was extremely pleased). Dustin had three squares. Mama got six in the Wednesday mail-pack. The bars will travel down to Mama Wednesday.

The blog’s small Sunday-publish rhythm continues. The catering business has been the small foreground of the small year’s work. The cookbook in its small online-store. The small recurring-clients (Singh family, Yates family, the corporate-luncheon brokerage) anchor the small reliable-revenue stream. The small one-off-jobs round out the small income.

Carol Bryant has been on the small Friday-call rhythm. Carol calls at five PM Tulsa time (six PM Memphis time). The call lasts twenty minutes. The conversation moves through Brayden, the small Bryant-cookbook collaboration, the small Memphis-news. The small grandmother-relationship continues to deepen.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes | Servings: 24 bars

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides for easy removal.
2. Mix dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugars. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. Add wet ingredients. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract and pumpkin puree until fully combined. The batter may look slightly curdled — that’s normal.
5. Combine. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing just until no dry streaks remain. Do not overmix.
6. Fold in chocolate chips. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of the chocolate chips by hand, reserving the remaining 1/2 cup for the top.
7. Bake. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the reserved chocolate chips over the top. Bake for 28–32 minutes, or until the center is set and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
8. Cool and cut. Allow the bars to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack, at least 1 hour, before lifting out and cutting into 24 bars.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 215 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 11g | Carbs: 28g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 105mg