Love you, Pumpkin!

Our recent autumn-esque February weather left me feeling nostalgic for the flavours of Thanksgiving. I prepared a yummy turkey dish and pumpkin chocolate chip squares. I will probably post the turkey recipe at some point, but dessert should come first, no?

These squares are rich and moist, similar in texture to a really fudgy brownie. I use spelt flour in my baking, which is very similar to wheat flour, but doesn't absorb water the same way. I've found I can usually substitute spelt into recipes by simply adding more flour than the recipe calls for. Spelt does contain gluten, but many people with wheat sensitivities, including myself, can eat it consequence free. I find it has a slightly nuttier flavour than wheat flour, and has the added bonus of not giving me wrenching stomach cramps!

I must give my parents credit for this recipe, it was arrived at completely by accident. The original recipe only called for a cup of pumpkin. Recipes including canned goods should always require an entire can! Yes, the thriftier of us out there will likely freeze what remains, or just dump the entire can into the bowl and hope for the best. You'll find it was a successful experiment!



1 cup unsalted butter room temp
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
2 cups spelt flour
1tsp each: cinnamon, baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
½ tsp. each: ground nutmeg, ground cloves , ground ginger
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup pure pumpkin
300 gram bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (I "accidentally" put a bag and a half in)



Preheat oven to 350.



In one large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add the egg, vanilla and pumpkin. In another bowl, mix dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cloves and ginger). Add dry ingredient mixture to the pumpkin mixture until combined, then add chocolate chips. Spread evenly in a 9x13" pan and bake for 35-40 minutes. They are meant to be quite moist so don't be alarmed if a toothpick doesn't come out clean.



Cool completely before cutting. Patience is needed here...perhaps I should add it to the ingredients. They smell good, I know, but if you cut them before the chocolate sets they don't look as nice because the melted chocolate gets smeared all over them. If you're not picky about aesthetics then cut away. Try not to burn your tongue.