Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

These pumpkin chocolate chip bars are moist and chewy with a delicious pumpkin spice flavor and tons of chocolate chips. They're an easy fall treat that's perfect for a crowd!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars, Pumpkin Cookie Bars

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 35

Total Time 50

Servings bars

Calories 290kcal

Author Fiona Dowling

Equipment

9x13 Inch Pan

Ingredients

¾ cup pumpkin puree (180 ml) be sure to use pure pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (313 grams)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup unsalted butter (168 grams) melted
1 cup brown sugar (210 grams) light or dark, I used dark
¾ cup granulated sugar (150 grams) use ½ cup (100 grams) for a less sweet cookie bar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ cups chocolate chips (270 grams) or chocolate chunks

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch (23x33 cm) pan, or line with parchment so that there is an overhang around the edges.
Using a few sheets of paper towel, squeeze out the excess moisture from the pumpkin. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, spices, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until no lumps of sugar remain.
Whisk the pumpkin and vanilla into the butter and sugar mixture.
Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until you no longer see lumps or streaks of dry ingredients. I typically do a few stirs with a rubber spatula and then whisk by hand with a wire whisk.
Fold the chocolate chips/chunks into the batter.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes. Baking closer to 30 minutes will give you a gooier, more blondie-like texture. Baking closer to 40 minutes will make the bars less gooey and a little more cookie-like.
Cool the bars in the pan for at least 30 minutes. For clean cuts, cool until the pan is no longer warm.

Notes

Pumpkin: Make sure to use pumpkin puree and not canned pumpkin pie filling. I highly recommend using canned pumpkin puree as opposed to making your own because homemade versions have varying amounts of moisture and can lead to results that are different than the recipe as written.
Spices: The spices can be substituted with 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice.
Storage: Store baked and cooled bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to 5 days. Baked and cooled bars can be wrapped tightly and frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge.
Nutrition: Details provided are an estimate only and based on 1 bar, assuming the pan is sliced into 18 uniform pieces.

Nutrition