Caramel Pumpkin Blondies (with Chocolate and Pecans)

One word... Delicious!  It's that time of year for pumpkin goodies and this little morsel won't let you down!  I wish I had  eaten this fresh out of the oven with vanilla ice cream.  That would have been perfection.  Whipped cream is a pretty tasty accompaniment too!

Pumpkin Blondies (with Chocolate and Pecans)

Ingredients:
For the Blondies-
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

For the Filling-
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 – 14 oz. package caramels, unwrapped
1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 9×13 pan with non stick cooking spray and set aside.

In large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in eggs, vanilla and pumpkin until combined. Slowly incorporate remaining ingredients into batter. Scrape sides and mix again briefly to ensure a smooth batter. Spread about 2/3 batter into prepared pan evenly. Sprinkle nuts and chocolate chips over top.

Place caramels and cream into a heat-proof bowl. Microwave on high until caramel is smooth and completely melted, being sure to stir every 20 seconds.

Pour melted caramel over chocolate and nuts. Spread around evenly with a butter knife or spoon. Place dollops of remaining batter overtop of the caramel layer. Spread those dollops out to try and get a smooth layer of batter over top. {It’s fine if some of the caramel layer is peeking through.}

Bake for 25 minutes or until edges are golden and toothpick comes out clean when inserted. {It might come out with a little caramel on it which is fine. You don’t want batter on the toothpick.}

Cool completely before serving. Or be prepared to get a whole lot of oozing caramel if you serve it warm.

Serve with vanilla ice cream of whipped cream.