Pumpkin-topped white chocolate blondies

This was another delicious idea from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody. It was easier than I thought it would be (for some reason the initial read-through made it sounds like more steps than it is), and the only complaint I have is that the base is more liquid-y than the pumpkin topping, so most of it oozed to the sides of the pan, meaning the edge pieces had far more blondie than the middle pieces did. That being said, they were all really tasty and my stomach hurts from sampling bars from all over the pan.
If I make them again, I might place the bottom layer in the fridge for a few minutes to let it firm up some...and I also might use some strong cassia cinnamon in the blondie base...and maybe a bit more pumpkin pie spice still in the topping.
But all of that is not to say that there are any real weaknesses here -- the recipe below is a great way to kick off the autumn baking season.

White Chocolate Blondie Base:

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter

½ cup white chocolate, chopped finely

½ cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

½ tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 heaping cup all-purpose flour (+1-2Tbsp extra if at altitude)

Pinch of salt

1/3 cup white chocolate chunks or chips

Pumpkin Top:

6 TBSP unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

½ tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (1 1/3 heaping cups if at alt)

½ tsp. baking powder (a tad less if at alt)

Pinch of salt

1 heaping tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice

Grease a 9-x-9-inch pan with baking spray.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Blondie Bottom:

Melt white chocolate and butter together in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently. White chocolate does not melt as smooth and pretty as dark or milk chocolate. Don’t worry. Set aside to cool.

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl with beaters) beat together the sugar, eggs, and vanilla together until smooth on medium high speed. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and continue beaten until well combined.

Add flour and salt to batter, and mix on low speed until combined, with no trace of the dry ingredients in sight.

Spread batter evenly in the prepared pan. Sprinkle white chocolate chunks/chips evenly over the top of the blondie batter. Set aside.

For Pumpkin Top:

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment beat together the butter and sugar on medium high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and continue beating until well combined.

Add the pumpkin and beat until thoroughly combined.

Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and spice to the pumpkin mixture. Mix until well combined and no trace of the dry ingredients remains.

Pour pumpkin top evenly (do the best you can) over the blondie layer in prepared pan. Bake for 30-34 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with only crumbs, not batter, on it.

Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for 1 hour.

Top with more white chocolate and maybe a little caramel if you would like.

Adpated from Fat Witch Brownies by Patricia Helding with Bryna Levin
(Taken here from CCbP)

Raspberry White Chocolate Blondies

I hardly ever use cake mixes these days but when you're in a pinch, these are super-fast, very tasty, and so easy to make...

1 package (18.25 ounces) white or yellow cake mix
2 large eggs
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries (or more if desired...pretty if you stick extras on top of batter before baking)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9 by 13-inch pan with cooking spray.
Place the cake mix, eggs, salt, and melted butter in a large mixing bowl.
Blend with electric mixer on low speed until ingredients are moistened, 1 minute.
Add chips and blend on low another 30 seconds, just to incorporate.
Gently stir in raspberries, trying not to crush them in the mix.
Turn the dough into the pan, and spread it evenly with a rubber spatula.
Place the pan in the oven and bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until the bars are lightly browned but still soft.
Remove the pan from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for at least 20 minutes, then slice and serve.

Avalanche Bars

I got this recipe while blog-surfing, but it is originally based on a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory creation.
I tweaked it somewhat, but it remains super-easy (no bake!) and it is really tasty -- definitely not your standard rice krispie treat!

12oz bag white chocolate chips
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
3 cups Rice Krispies, or "Puffed Rice" if you're buying generic
1 2/3 cups mini marshmallows
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips + 1/4cup for garnish

Lightly grease a 9x9 pan (or 8x8 if you prefer thicker bars)
1. In microwave-safe bowl dump in white chips and heat on med power for 1 minute. Stir and continue in 30 second increments until chips are melted.
2. Combine the peanut butter with the melted chips
3. Add the krispies.
4. Let cool approx 15 - 20 minutes stirring every 5 minutes or so to help cool.
5. Add the marshmallows, peanut butter chips, and mini chocolate chips and stir to combine.
6. Dump mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly, pressing lightly with the back of your spoon, but do not compact too much, otherwise they will get hard.
7. Press the remaining chocolate chips into the top for garnish.
When the bars are completely cooled cut into squares and enjoy!

White Chocolate and Cranberry Bars

Threw these together the other night on a whim -- idea was good but cake mix not the best -- bubbled up over edges, and was crust stayed too dry in places. Edges also baked way before the insides did, so probably better for Baker's Edge pan. Next time I'll just make a good butter-cookie-like crust and then following the remaining steps...

Ingredients

1/2 cup + 2Tbsp butter
1 box white cake mix

1 cup dried sweetened cranberries
12oz (1 bag) white chocolate chunks
1 cup coconut
14oz (1 can) sweetened condensed milk

Directions
1. In a 13x9 pan (or a Baker's Edge pan) melt 1 stick+2Tbsp butter, then sprinkle cake mix over top.
2. Layer cranberries, chocolate chunks, and coconut evenly over top.
3. Drizzle condensed milk evenly over pan.
4. Bake at 350 for 30-40min, until bubbly and golden brown on edges.
5. Let cool *completely* before cutting; drizzle white chocolate frosting/drizzle over top for decoration.

Mini Blueberry Upside-down Cakes

This recipe was another one that was adapted from Baking Bites.

I added a few tweaks and have attempted to note them below as best as I can remember them!

3/4 cup sugar

2 cup fresh blueberries (do not use frozen...too soggy!)

2 cup all purpose flour

1 cup light brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1 1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

2 large egg

3 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease, with butter or oil, 12 muffin cups

Place 1 tbsp sugar in each greased cup. Add about 2 tbsp blueberries to each cup, making sure that the bottom of each cup is well covered with berries.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.

In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, melted butter, egg and vanilla.

Pour into dry ingredients and whisk until everything is well-combined and no streaks of flour remain.

Divide batter evenly into prepared muffin cups, filling each to the top.Tap pan firmly on the counter several times to knock out some of the air bubbles and ensure that the batter gets down between the blueberries.

Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with only a few crumbs attached. Cool cakes in pan for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes and turn them out onto a wire rack to cool before serving.

If the sugar sticks to the cup bottom, dig it out and crumble the chunks on top of the berries.

Drizzle with white icing (or powdered sugar/milk drizzle) if desired.

Other ideas:

Stir in 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

and/or

Pulverize 1 cup of white chocolate in a food processor and gently stir into batter before dividing into cups...

and/or

sprinkle a crumb topping (1/3 cup sugar + 3 Tbsp flour + 1 tsp salt + 1/4 cup melted butter) on the top of the cups (which end up being the bottom) before baking.