Caramel Chocolate Pumpkin Blondies

"Fall Foods for $300, please."

"A handheld pumpkin dessert better than cookies."

"What's caramel chocolate pumpkin blondies?"

"YES!"

Oh did you miss that episode of Jeopardy?  Well, I'm pretty sure that happened.  

These blondies start with a cakey layer of pumpkin...

Which is followed by a thick dose of caramel and oodles of chocolate chips.  It's topped with another layer of cakey pumpkin before being popped in the oven.

Out of the oven comes an ooey gooey fall treat not to be matched.  It definitely is the answer to Your Coworkers Will Love You for $600.

I made this as dessert for a dinner party we had a couple weekends ago.  Paired with sweet pepper soup and broccoli basil mac and cheese, it was the perfect fall meal.

I've never been much of a Jeopardy watcher (we don't really have the TV on at 7:00 PM), though I did enjoy the Nintendo video game in my youth.  I doubt I would've succeeded on any food questions back then, but nowadays I've got Fall Foods covered.  With this recipe, now so do you!

Caramel Chocolate Pumpkin Blondies

From Tasty Kitchen

3/4 cups butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 3/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 12 oz. jar caramel (or 14 oz bag of caramels and 1/4 cup cream)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 baking sheet.

Cream softened butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Mix in eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin until combined (it will be very oozy at this point).  Add in cinnamon and nutmeg.  Slowly add in 1 3/4 cups flour until just incorporated.  

Pour 2/3 of this batter mixture into your greased pan.  Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over batter - use as much as you'd like.  If using a jar of caramel sauce, simply pour evenly over the chips and batter.  If using caramels, unwrap a bag of caramels and place in a microwave safe bowl with 1/4 cup cream.  Microwave in 20 second intervals until completely melted, stirring every 20 seconds.  Place dollops of remaining pumpkin batter over caramel layer and spread evenly with a knife or spatula.  

Bake for 25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean (other than some caramel).  Cool completely before serving.