41/52 Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

There's no denying it. Fall is here. 

But that's not a problem - at least not for me - as I love fall. 

The colors, the fresh crisp air, cozy evenings with lit candles... 

And pumpkins. Let's not forget pumpkins. 

Until a couple of years ago, I loved the look of them but not the taste. 

I'm really glad this changed and pumpkins have become a big part of my autumnal cuisine.
Hence, today's choice of baking...

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

Adapted from Bake at 350

300 g (2 cups) flour

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

227 g (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

275 g (1 1/4 cups) sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup canned pumpkin

200 g (8 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips

• Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F).
• Combine flour, spices, baking soda, and salt.
• Whisk together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 
• Add the egg and vanilla and combine well. 
• Add pumpkin. 
• Fold in the flour mix until just combined. 
• Stir in the chocolate chips.
• Pour batter into prepared pan (about 20x30 cm or 13x9 in) and bake for about 35 minutes. Let cool and cut into bars.

My modifications:

Since I had it at home, I used pumpkin pie spice which made it a bit easier. Use about 2.5-3 teaspoons if you wanna do the same.

I "only" used 200 g (8 oz.) of chocolate chips instead of the suggested 12 oz. (340 g). I love chocolate but that was definitely enough.

In Germany, we don't really know or eat canned pumpkin. There is only pickled pumpkin so I gave it a try. Of course I drained the pumpkin before adding it to the batter but what I didn't consider is that the butter could still curdle. And it did. But I just processed the batter with my hand blender and it was all good. So to all my readers in Germany: pickled pumpkin works well, don't worry about the possible curdling and just blend away...

The taste:

Autumnally going on Christmassy which means totally yummy (at least in my terms). I felt that the pumpkin flavor came out better on the second day so make it one day ahead if you can.

What do you love about the fall season?