Pumpkin Blondies and a Special Give-Away

When I was in the fabric/quilt store a few weeks ago to look for the perfect fabric for October's Give-Away, it became abundantly clear that Kelly was going to have a say in this!  Rest assure I'm not crazy...at least not certifiable (LOL), but as I kept picking up bolts to decide, this fabric just kept screaming at me--"This one, Mom, this one!"

I should have prefaced this by saying that Kelly loved sunflowers and for awhile, collected prints for her walls, included one by Van Gogh, and had me sew a dress with sunflower fabric for an awards banquet she was attending.  I still have the dress and maybe one day I will remake it into something for Ari to cherish of his mama.  Also, I must tell you that when Kelly was diagnosed with breast cancer, she was bombarded with all sorts of lovely "pink" gifts, but told me one day, "Mom, I hate pink--I'd much prefer the color to be orange!"  You can probably guess that's why she loved anything pumpkin as well:-D

So, here is this month's Give-Away Apron--full of bold "artistic" sunflowers in yellows and orange on a black background, another favorite of Kelly's--in fact, her whole wardrobe was black for the most part.  One day, I saw her in a grey sweater and chided her for wearing something other than black and with her quick wit she responded, "haven't you heard, grey is the NEW black!"

Pumpkin Blondies
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
3 1/2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree'
3 large eggs
1 T Pumpkin Pie Spice
4 1/2 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour
2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. Kosher salt
1 3/4 cup pistachios, chopped
1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F-degrees.  Brush a 12" x 17" baking pan with melted butter, line with parchment paper, then brush the melted butter again.

In a stand mixer, using a paddle attachment, beat the brown sugar with the melted butter until thoroughly mixed.  Add the pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice and beat on medium to combine.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add the dry ingredients, 3/4 cup of the chopped pistachio and 1/2 cup of the bittersweet chocolate chips and stir to combine.

Spoon batter into the prepared pan and spread out evenly.  Sprinkle the additional 1 cups of pistachios and 1 cup of bittersweet chocolate chips on top.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then, lower the temperature to 325F-degrees and continue baking for 16 to 18 minutes until golden brown and set on top.

I cut the pan into 24 bars ( 4 x 6)--I like to serve a good-size bar!

This is going to be a special month of giving--exemplifying Kelly's generous nature, so keep stopping by for little surprises that I will be giving away. Enjoy!