These pumpkin spice blondies are what autumn dreams are made of. Subtly sweet and seasonally spiced, these blondies are the perfect compliment to an afternoon cup of coffee while soaking up the cool, fall breeze.
Parenting. It’s a job/calling that largely consists of boundary setting, rule enforcing and tough love. I know as a mom that my main job is to raise decent, kind, contributing human beings. Doing this means that my kids aren’t always happy with me. C’est la vie. In my opinion, a parent has to be comfortable saying no and sticking her guns, but, BUT, every so often there comes a day when I just don’t want to say no again.
Take yesterday. It was a busy morning for us all. Once I had the girls piled up and ready to head home at 12:30 for lunch, everything became a battle. I had to ask them to buckle their seat belts more than 10 (billion) times, meanwhile they climbed over the backseats pushing every button they could find, and inevitably falling into each other, resulting in tears. Then the ride home was fighting over which music to play and whining about what the rest of the day entailed. By the time we got home, I was DONE.
I handed them some cheese in a tortilla, gave them about 5 minutes to eat it, then sent them straight to their beds for quiet time. I had plenty I needed to do but first I face planted into my bed and just concentrated on breathing.
Quiet time gave me a little over an hour to chill, recollect myself and feel the fall breeze through my window. (#quiettimeforever or at least until age 18) I didn’t want to be this mom today. We are smackdab in the middle of my favorite season and I didn’t want to let this perfect afternoon pass me by. I promised myself I’d get up extra early tomorrow tackle my list and just be fun mom for the afternoon. And fun mom I was.
My house was actually clean for once, but I still let the girls crack the egg and mix the flour. Mess equals memories and I fought my OCD clean-as-you-go instincts with all my might so I could be in the moment.
The girls sniffed the spices and sampled the “gredients” – shockingly enough, brown sugar was their fav.
I didn’t try to add flax seeds or go halfway with whole wheat flour. We just went for it. Sugar, butter, cinnamon and spices in all their beautiful fall glory! At the end, we had a messy kitchen and one 8×8 dish full of warm pumpkin spice blondies.
One bite lead to mmm’s all around as the girls congratulated each other on their culinary success.
And I have to agree. These pumpkin spice blondies are the perfect compliment to an afternoon cup of coffee. When the leaves are rustling and the breeze blows through the screen, just light that Leaves candle and reach for one of these. I promise you, this is what autumn dreams are made of.
They are subtly sweet and perfectly spiced. I highly suggest making these for weekend company, or just for yourself, if you are in need of a moment of fall zen. And if you want to serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, well, you might just be a genius.
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Pumpkin Spice Blondies
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Category: dessert, recipes
- Cuisine: dessert
Description
These pumpkin spice blondies are what autumn dreams are made of. Subtly sweet and seasonally spiced, these blondies are the perfect compliment to an afternoon cup of coffee while soaking up the cool, fall breeze.
Ingredients
- 8 Tbsp butter, melted
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup all purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter an 8×8 baking dish.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine melted butter and brown sugar. Mix until well combined.
- Add the egg, vanilla extract, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and salt. Mix thoroughly.
- Add the flour and stir to combine.
- Pour batter into greased baking dish, spreading evenly.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until baked through. Insert a toothpick in the center to ensure it comes out clean. Allow to rest for 5 minutes, then cut and serve.
With blondies in our tummies, we were all in better spirits. I didn’t want to delay the fun, so I snapped a few quick pictures then we all headed outside. We enjoyed a fall walk, picking up leaves and collecting acorns for squirrels, then piled up on the couch to watch Mickey’s House of Villians (currently streaming on Netflix FYI).
Yes, it’s important to me to be a firm parent, but trading in an occasional afternoon battle in favor of blondies and snuggles is where the memories are made.
Now go make a batch of these simple sweets and make some memories of your own! 🙂
Brynn says
Pumpkin blondies and a cup of coffee sounds amazing. I’m with you, some times we need to surrender to the crazy and roll with the punches. Because there’s alway tomorrow 🙂
John J. says
Boundaries, enforcement, tough love – and fun with snuggles make you an incredible Mom! And, ah, the Fall breeze with tasty blondies. The good life.
Cassie says
Gosh I needed this reminder today with my 14 mo old and whining as her primary mode of communication. I often feel like just giving in. But, most of the time, its about being firm and consistent.
Jessie @ The Acquired Sass says
Thinking I could go the ultimate lazy girl route & sub the spices for an equal amount of pumpkin pie spice…thoughts?
I’m heading to a fall party on Sunday. I love to bake // cook, but hate all the recipes with 106 steps that require heart of a unicorn, so I think this one just one. Simple, doesn’t make so much I’ll have a ton leftover & simple ingredients I already have in the house.
Jessie @ The Acquired Sass says
…correction, this one just won.
Julie says
You’re such a good mom, Brittany. <3
Laura @FitMamaLove says
Good job saving the day! These sound really good. My almost 4-year-old daughter is terrible at taking quiet time and I’m not sure how to fix it because my son was always good at it and still will take a good quiet time even at age 6. I’m going to try to shoot for quiet times until age 18 as well! 🙂
Diana says
Hi Brittany!
I have been reading your blog for a long time now and have wanted to comment forever but never did. However, today I am doing it!
You are such a great person and an incredible mom. Your family is so fortunate to have you. I love your recipes and I love reading about your fun adventures. I really enjoyed seeing the exciting things you did in my home state of Colorado. (I live near Denver-Go Broncos!). 😉
Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate your blog. I am married with a 4 year old daughter so I know how hard some days can be. You should be very proud of yourself. I would have given my right arm to have a mom like YOU!!!
Brittany Dixon says
Hi Diana and THANK YOU for saying such kind things. On the days I feel I have over-committed myself, connecting with people like through this space make me thrilled that I am still blogging. So nice to “e-meet” you and again thanks for taking the time to comment. I hope you are having a wonderful Halloweekend!!
Karen says
Hi Brittany,
These look and sound great! I do have a question, is there pumpkin in these? The girls are so cute, they are both getting so big. Hope you have a great week.
Thanks!
Karen
Brittany Dixon says
Hi Karen! There is no actual pumpkin in this particular recipe, but is perfectly pumpkin spiced (kind of like the latte ;)). I love the idea of adding real pumpkin, so maybe I’ll try a version like that next time! Thanks for the suggestion!
Jessie @ The Acquired Sass says
Came back to note I used pumpkin pie spice – 3tsp in place of all listed spice + added a HUGE spoonful of regular pumpkin, which would equate to somewhere between 1/4 & 1/3 cup. I had to bake 5 minutes longer, but they were delicious & SUPER moist and pumpkiny, a little dense compared to what I was expecting, but in a good way.
Shelly says
I know you posted this awhile ago but did you use salted or unsalted butter? Thanks, and happy Thanksgiving!
Brittany Dixon says
Hi Shelly, I’m so sorry it took me so long to reply! I used unsalted butter. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!