Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

made with browned butter . . .

I thought it would be nice to start off this space with a little treat for you. A recipe that I have been making on repeat the last few weeks and one that I’m sure you’ll want to make for years to come.

These bars are dense + soft + lightly sweet. they come together quickly and require just one bowl for mixing if you’re crafty about it. I baked mine in a brownie pan that’s 11” x 7” — it’s an odd size, I know, but I use this pan all the time.

I don’t like those blogs that give you a whole life story and pages of notes before the recipe, so I’ll be brief. I highly recommend browning the butter (it only takes a few minutes). But — if you are short on time — you can also just melt a stick of butter without this added step.

PUMPKIN SPICE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE BARS

(made with browned butter)

What you’ll need . . .

• 1 stick of butter — melted or browned (directions below)

• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree

• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar (regular works fine, too)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

Method . . .

1. Preheat your oven to 325F. Lightly grease a brownie pan (11” x 7”) or 8” x 8” pan with your butter wrapper and set aside.

2. Start by melting or browning your butter. If you are melting, simply pour into a large mixing bowl for the next step. Browning sounds intimidating, but you really just plop the stick of butter into a small pot on your stove over medium-low heat and keep stirring it until it froths and eventually starts to turn orange (better instructions here). Immediately take off the heat at this point and pour into a large mixing bowl, scraping all the browned bits in as well.

3. Add the maple syrup, brown sugar, pumpkin, and vanilla extract to the slightly cooled butter. Mix well with a whisk.

4. Add your flour, baking soda + baking powder, spices, and salt. Note that I am lazy. You can whisk these dry ingredients together in another bowl before adding — but I just lightly whisk them atop the butter mixture before incorporating into the wet mixture.

5. Fold in your chocolate chips. I also think walnuts or pecans might be fun to add — go wild.

6. Bake for approximately 23 minutes (brownie pan) or a minute or two longer for the square pan — you want it to be light golden brown, the center to be set, and the edges slightly pulling away from the sides.

7. Let cool in the pan before slicing into squares. Store for a couple days in an airtight container — I tend to keep mine in the fridge + then heat for a few seconds in the microwave before eating.

Enjoy!