I know that it still feels like the peak of summer, at least during the day, but the evening tells a different story. We have reached the time of year where somehow both heat and air conditioning make sense. It is a complicated season, but it is officially Almost Autumn, that liminal period that isn’t quite sweater weather but pumpkin spice is definitely in the air.

These blondies are fancy enough that you can dress them up with some whipping cream and take them out to a nice dinner, and if any are left over, they will be great for breakfast the next morning with yogurt (they are oatmeal, after all).

Makes: 1 8×13 inch pan (I will let you decide how many servings that would be…)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups (300g) sugar
• 1/4 cup (60g) pumpkin puree (canned is fine, just not pie filling)
• 2 tbsp molasses
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk (cold)
• 1 1/2 cups (180g) AP flour
• 2 cups (180g) quick oats
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1 cup (120g) chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Butter an 8 x 13 inch (20 x 33 cm) baking tray
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees f (175 degrees c)
3. Cream together butter (1 cup), sugar (1 1/2 cups)
4. Add pumpkin puree (1/4 cup), molasses (2 tbsp), vanilla (1 tsp), and egg and egg yolk, and mix well – don’t worry if the mixture looks slightly curdled, that is just the cold egg doing its thing with the butter and will help give you more of a brownie texture
5. In a bowl, stir together flour (1 1/2 cups), oats (2 cups), baking soda (1 tsp), baking powder (1 tsp), salt (1/2 tsp), cinnamon (1 tsp), allspice (1/4 tsp), nutmeg (1/8 tsp), and cloves (1/8 tsp)
6. Add dry ingredients to wet ones and mix just until they are distributed evenly
7. Add pecans (1 cup) and mix just until combined
8. Spread out mixture evenly in the baking dish
9. Bake for about 25 minutes, until the middle is set and the edges are browning
10. Try and let cool before slicing

Notes:

• This is probably the place where I should tell you how long these will last in the freezer or on the counter in a sealed container. The question has never come up, they seem to evaporate long before shelf life ever becomes an issue.