Have you tried Trader Joe’s pumpkin cookie butter yet? These blondies are chock full of pumpkin spices and pumpkin cookie butter. Nothing screams fall quite like these bars!
You all know that I am a slow adapter. It took me forever to finally try (and bake) macarons, I waited a few seasons before watching ER on television in my youth, and I was a late adapter to Apple products. One thing that I was actually pretty quick to try was Trader Joe’s pumpkin cookie butter.
As soon as I heard about this product (hello, Fearless Flyer!), I knew I had to have it. My family and I drove to our nearest Trader Joe’s and I had one goal in mind: buy the pumpkin cookie butter.
Once we entered the store, we split up. I made a beeline for the baking aisle and almost heard a heavenly choir welcome me as I approached the stash of pumpkin cookie butter. The guy at the checkout told us that he had to limit himself to one jar because otherwise he’d eat the whole stash. He said that the product would not last long and that I would have to stock up pretty quickly before all the peppermint and holiday products arrived.
The minute we came home, I ran to pull out a plastic knife. My husband chose a spoon. I dipped my utensil into the pumpkin cookie butter and let Addie have a taste. She didn’t seem too impressed. My husband said that it was amazing, and I agreed once I was able to get a hold of the jar. My first idea to bake with this golden deliciousness was to create some blondies.
I took a classic blondie recipe and added some pumpkin pie spice and a good amount of pumpkin cookie butter. I thought the pumpkin spices were still a little too subtle, so I may up the amount of pumpkin pie spice to 1 teaspoon next time (changes not reflected below). My husband, on the other hand, said that the spices were perfect. I might also add some white chocolate or cinnamon chips to the next batch of blondies. The bars had a nice crispy and crackly top and a nice pumpkin undertone. The texture was soft and chewy, just the way blondies should be.
These blondies were pretty epic, even though they look fairly unassuming. And if it’s not too late, I highly recommend running to your Trader Joe’s and buying a few jars of their pumpkin cookie butter before it’s too late.
Pumpkin cookie butter blondies
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1/3 cup pumpkin cookie butter I bought mine at Trader Joe's
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease a standard 8"x8" baking pan and set aside.
- In a small saucepan set over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the brown sugar and mix until well combined. Turn off the heat and set aside. Allow the mixture to cool slightly. Once the brown sugar mixture has slightly cooled, add in the egg and vanilla and mix well.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice together.
- Add in the brown sugar mixture and fold with a spatula until everything is well combined. Transfer the batter to your prepared baking pan.
- Bake in your preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the bars to cool completely before slicing and serving.