Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Squares

I love to make a sweet treat for my family for the Sabbath.  Sometimes I make a dessert for after dinner on Friday night and sometimes I make muffins or quick breads for breakfast on Saturday.  This week, I made dessert.

This week, I was given some pumpkins.  The first one, I used the boiling method that I talked about here.  After taking the encouragement of Carmen and Michelle, I roasted the second pumpkin, using the method that Carmen talks about here.  Roasting the pumpkin took a longer cook time before being ready to puree, but it was so much less hands-on time and also such an easy process that this will most likely be my method from now on!  Thanks Michelle and Carmen for the encouragement!

With the fresh pumpkin puree, I made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Squares. The only changes that I made to the recipe were to use fresh pumpkin in place of the canned pumpkin and freshly milled soft white wheat flour in place of the all purpose flour.  Although they are for dessert tonight, I had to sneak a taste of one (hey, it was a new recipe!).  Pumpkin and chocolate together sounds like a strange combination to me, but these squares are so good!  Super moist and the flavors compliment each other more than I could have imagined.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 tablespoon pumpkin-pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on all sides. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pie spice, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

2.With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth; beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in pumpkin puree (mixture may appear curdled). Reduce speed to low, and mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

3.Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in pan.

4.Lift cake from pan (using foil as an aid). Peel off foil, and use a serrated knife to cut into 24 squares.

This post is linked to: Preparation Day (click the link to participate or to see how others are preparing for the Sabbath)