Vegan Pumpkin Blondies with White Chocolate & Pecans
These blondies are my fall, DREAMS! They are everything I could ever want all wrapped up into one cozy dessert bar. Think (white) chocolate chip cookies, meets blondies, meets pecan pie, meets pumpkin pie. *Mic DROP.* Now, I know that might sound like a whole LOT to be going on for one dessert, but let me tell you, these vegan pumpkin blondies are PHENOMENAL.
These are perfectly chewy with crispy, crunchy outer edges.
I worked my dang BUTT off to create my perfect vegan pumpkin blondie. I will not hesitate to say that it was a lot of trial and error to make these “perfect.” I had a hard time making them chewy and not cakey. I hate cakey “brownies,” and whenever I added the pumpkin puree into the existing base of the blondies, it changed the texture similar to that of pumpkin bread… (tasty, but not what I was aiming for!)
Finally, I figured it out after creating a few batches and making a TON of changes. In the end, I removed the pumpkin puree out of the dough base and decided to swirl it on top instead. This turned out way better than what I originally had in mind and was testing out. It is almost as if you’re getting bites of pumpkin pie on top now, and I LOVE that!
The methods to make these vegan pumpkin blondies are quite simple.
I whisk the dry ingredients together, stir the wet ingredients together, and then combine the two together. I mix vegan white chocolate chips and chopped pecans into the batter and then evenly press it into a greased baking dish. I then dollop and swirl a super simple pumpkin mixture on top and sprinkle over more chocolate chips and pecans. Into the oven, it goes!
Once it’s cooled down and preferably chilled in the refrigerator overnight for optimum chewiness, I cut it into squares. I finish them off with a white chocolate drizzle and toasted, crushed pecans!
So what do they taste like exactly??
The base of the blondies tastes somewhere in between a chocolate chip cookie and a classic blondie. But, with a touch of warmth, because I snuck a tiny bit of molasses into it. The vegan white chocolate chips add a nice, creamy, subtle sweetness, while the pecans add a nutty crunchiness.
Then, there’s the pumpkin swirl on top that tastes just like bites of pumpkin pie. I love that I ended up adding the pumpkin on top instead of keeping it combined into the actual dough. Because pumpkin is more on the “savory” side, it helps balance out all of the sweetness of the rest of the blondie.
Because, yes, these blondies are pretty sweet. They are also the farthest thing from healthy. But, I’m not here to promote healthy recipes. I’m here to show people that vegan food does not have to be bland, boring, and gross. I think that this dessert proves just that. Life is all about balance, in my opinion, so have a vegan pumpkin blondie, or don’t! But, BRB, because I’m actually about to eat one, hehe.
Want another delicious fall dessert recipe!? Check out my Most Perfectly Soft & Chewy Vegan Snickerdoodles! They’re super easy to make and very tasty.
If you make these vegan pumpkin blondies, don’t forget to post a picture to Instagram, tag me @chefsummerstorm, and #gardengrub so I can see your recreation!
Vegan Pumpkin Blondies with White Chocolate & Pecans
Ingredients
Pumpkin Swirl
- 3/4 cup canned plain pumpkin puree (Do not use pumpkin pie filling.)
- 2 tbsp organic cane sugar
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Blondie Batter
- 2 tbsp flax meal
- 6 tbsp water
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 tsp cornstarch
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup vegan butter, melted (I use the brand Earth Balance – Original.)
- 2 cups brown sugar, packed
- 1 tsp molasses
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract, 100% pure
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp vegan white chocolate chips (I use Nestle Tollhouse's "Simply Delicious" white chocolate morsels.)
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp raw pecans, roughly chopped
To Decorate the Tops of the Blondies
- 1/4 cup vegan white chocolate chips (I use Nestle Tollhouse's "Simply Delicious" white chocolate morsels.)
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 2 tbsp raw pecans, finely chopped
Instructions
Pumpkin Swirl
- Add the 3 ingredients together into a small bowl and stir until evenly combined. Set aside and make the blondie batter.
Blondie Batter
- Line a 9×9 inch baking dish with a piece of parchment paper. Lightly grease the parchment paper with butter. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a small-sized bowl, stir together the flax meal and water. Let it rest for 10 minutes, occasionally stirring to ensure it doesn't separate. This mixture creates flax "eggs."
- In a medium-large bowl, whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- With a large mixing bowl, use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to stir together the melted butter, brown sugar, molasses, and vanilla extract until well combined. Then, add in the flax "eggs." Stir until well combined.
- Add about 1 cup of the dry mix at a time into the wet mixture. Stir until mostly combined. Repeat until all dry mix is incorporated into the wet mix and is evenly combined.
- Add the 1 cup of vegan white chocolate chips and the 1/2 cup of chopped pecans into the batter. Use your hands to distribute them into the batter evenly.
- Press the batter evenly into the greased baking dish.
- Now, grab the pumpkin swirl mix you made earlier and divide it into 9 dollops across the top of the blondie batter. (So, make 3 rows of 3 dollops.)
- Now, take a small (eating) spoon and lightly press/dip the pumpkin mix into the very top of the batter with the back of the spoon. Then, swirl the pumpkin dollops together, just ever so slightly. Do not over swirl or cover the entire top of the blondie batter with the pumpkin mix, or the pumpkin will get "lost" in flavor.
- Sprinkle across the 2 tablespoons of white chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons of pecans.
- Pop the prepared baking dish into the oven, on the middle rack, and bake for 30 minutes, rotating that pan half-way through.
- If decorating, allow the blondies to cool down to room temperature completely. I also HIGHLY recommend chilling the blondies in the refrigerator overnight, as they will become the chewiest they can be.
- When ready to cut, lift the parchment paper holding the blondies out of the pan. Place it on a cutting board and cut them into whatever size your heart desires. For picture purposes, I cut mine into 9 squares (3 rows by 3 rows.) However, they're pretty thick and filling, so I'd suggest cutting them into 16 squares (4 rows by 4 rows) instead.
How to Decorate the Tops of the Blondies
- Fill a small saucepot with about 1 inch of water. Place a small glass bowl on top. The bowl should fit snuggly into the saucepot and not be touching the water whatsoever. This set up is called a double-boiler. Place this over low heat.
- Add the white chocolate chips and coconut oil into the bowl. Stir and cook until completely melted. This will only take a couple of minutes.
- Add the finely chopped pecans into a small saute pan and cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes to toast them. They are ready when they turn a very light golden brown color and are fragrant in smell.
- Once the chocolate is melted, take a small (eating) spoon and lightly and quickly drizzle a bit of it across the tops of the blondies, in straight lines, or a criss-cross pattern.
- Lastly, sprinkle across a pinch of the toasted pecans onto a part of the melted chocolate drizzle.
- Once they are completely set, store them in an airtight container. Hold the brownies in the refrigerator for the most extended shelf life and optimum chewiness!
Tiparooskis
Welcome to my tip section of the pumpkin blondies recipe! Here I provide my top tips to help you perfect the recipe. Sometimes, I also give substitute suggestions that I think you may find helpful.
- I HIGHLY recommend chilling these in the refrigerator overnight. The blondies get super chewy, and I think that they taste great cold. But, if that’s not your vibe, you can eat them un-chilled. The final texture will be slightly less chewy, but still awesome nonetheless!
- Hate nuts!? Forget about the pecans. I recommend adding them in, but if you hate nuts, feel free to leave them out. I’d suggest adding in an extra half of a cup of white chocolate chips then.
4 Comments
Halley
These were so good! Also very different, so everyone was like shocked by the how good they tasted. I did use non-vegan butter though 🤭 I also didn’t decorate the top of the brownies either, and they were still fantastic.
Only weird thing was that the brownies dough/batter was very sturdy and not pourable whatsoever lol. I literally had to mold it into my 9×9. And then it was kind of coming out the top. I was scared the brownies were going to overflow and make a huge mess in the oven, but they actually sank. I’m not really sure how the “batter” even got that hard, but I’m glad they sank and it all worked out in the end lol.
garden grub
So fun you made the pumpkin blondies in the summertime, hehe. They really are a unique dessert, but that’s what I love about them! And yes, the batter is a little questionable at first, but the final result turns out great! So happy to hear you and your friends enjoyed them! 🙂
Jim Holzbauer
I might have to make these sometime
garden grub
I say DO IT!! 🙂