Pumpkin madness series

I never knew there were so many sweet things I could make with pumpkin! 

I'm glad there are so many pumpkin lovers out there:) 

This time round I went for a recipe I had never seen... Pumpkin and chocolate chip bars. Pumpkin and chocolate?! Are you sure?! Lets see what Niki Segnit has to say about this flavour combination in her 'The flavour Thesaurus' (it's my bible)... Nothing. A flavour combination the book doesn't cover! Only one way to find out... Bake it! 

The veredict? I loved it!!! The pumpkin gives the bars a wonderful moister just like a carrot cake. And the chocolate? Delicious with pumpkin! 

I took some bars to work, my colleagues never say no to cake:p and it was a hit! Everyone seemed to enjoy it a lot. At home opinions were devided.. My dad loved it, my mum? Not much. But I became a fan and this recipe is a keeper. 

I took it from twopeasandtheirpod.com website. 

Here is the recipe: 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars 

Ingredients: 

2 cups all-purpose flour 

1 tablespoon pumpkin-pie spice 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

3/4 teaspoon salt 

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature 

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 large egg 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

1 cup canned pumpkin puree(not pumpkin pie filling) 

1 package(12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 F (180C). Grease a 9-by-13 inch baking pan and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt: set aside. 

2. With a stand or electric mixer, cream butter, and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth; beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Add pumpkin puree and mix well. The mixture will look somewhat curdled. Reduce speed to low, and miz dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips. 

3. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake bars for 35-40 min or until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few moiat crumbs attached. 

4. Cool bars completely in pan. Cut into squares and serve. 

I always use salted butter so I never put in the salt. I also use my homemade vanilla extract(check out my 'vanilla vanilla vanilla' post on how to make it). 

Give it a try!! Bake away...