Shortbread makes me think of autumn, so it’s only right to combine shortbread and pumpkin.
It’s been a while, but I have talked about my shortbread/autumn association before. It puts me in mind of kilts and bagpipes and happy family times.
Pumpkin lends an orange tint and a very mellow and pleasant flavor. It’s such a small amount that it doesn’t make the pieces feel tacky, either.
The original recipe called for dark chocolate. That’s just not my thing. I prefer white chocolate with pumpkin. Here, I mixed in white and semi-sweet chips. YUM.
Don’t be fooled by the fact that this uses an 8×8 pan–the shortbread is thick, so it makes a good bit. I cut it small, like I would with fudge.
Like most any shortbread, these keep very very well. I imagine it would mail well, too, if you don’t live in a place where it’s still 100-degrees in November.
Modified from Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Shortbread from The View from the Great Island.
Bready or Not: Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Shortbread
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 Tbsp pumpkin puree heaping
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chocolate chips white, dark, semi, etc
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Prepare an 8x8 dish by lining it with aluminum foil or parchment paper and applying nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Beat in the vanilla, pumpkin, and spices.
- Fold in the flour, and then the chocolate chips.
- Spread the batter in the pan, smoothing it out evenly.
- Bake for about 40-45 minutes, until the edges just start to turn gold. Set out to cool to room temperature, then use the foil or parchment to lift the shortbread out for easy cutting.