These white chocolate pretzel pumpkin blondies are one of my favorite go-to treats, when I want something that perfectly combines sweet, salty, and seasonal flavors. These blondies are a breeze to make, with an amazing mix of creamy white chocolate, crunchy pretzels, and the warm spices of pumpkin. Plus, they look and taste impressive, even though the steps are totally doable for a casual weekday bake!
Why You’ll Love These Pumpkin Blondies
These blondies remind me of cozy fall afternoons when I’m looking for something easy but crave-worthy to bake.
- Quick prep: Mix it up, bake, and you’re set—these bars come together without much fuss!
- Sweet & salty combo: The perfect blend of white chocolate sweetness and salty pretzel crunch.
- Seasonal favorite: Pumpkin puree adds a cozy fall flavor and keeps these blondies wonderfully moist.
- Texture heaven: Soft and gooey inside with a crunchy pretzel topping for a bite that’s always satisfying.
Ingredients & Substitutions
To make these white chocolate pretzel pumpkin blondies, you’ll need all-purpose flour, baking powder, kosher salt, ground cinnamon, unsalted butter, light brown sugar, an egg, pure vanilla extract, pumpkin puree, white chocolate chips, white chocolate-covered pretzels, white chocolate wafers, heavy cream, and pretzel
- Pumpkin puree: If you don’t have canned pumpkin puree, you can use homemade pumpkin puree—just make sure it's well-drained to avoid too much moisture.
- White chocolate: You can swap white chocolate chips for dark or milk chocolate if you want a different flavor twist.
- Pretzels: Any kind of pretzel works here, but using chocolate-covered pretzels adds that extra sweetness and a touch of decadence.
How to make the best white chocolate pretzel pumpkin blondies
Move the oven rack to the center position. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Measure the foil with enough to have an overhang on all four sides. Line a 9 x 9-inch baking pan with foil. Work to make the foil fit into the corners of the pan.
Spray the pan with nonstick baking spray.
Add butter in a medium bowl, put the bowl in the microwave set on medium until the butter has melted. Set the butter aside allowing it to slightly cool.
Add in the sugar. With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until smooth. Continue mixing while adding both the eggs and vanilla.
Slowly add in the pumpkin puree. Mix to combine
Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together in a bowl. Use a rubber spatula to blend the dry ingredients in with the wet ingredients. Do not overmix.
Add in the white chocolate chips and the chopped white chocolate-covered pretzels.
Use a rubber spatula to spread the batter in the baking pan and smooth the top of the batter. Sprinkle chopped pretzels on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and shiny. Remove from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack to cool.
To make the ganache, chop 6 oz of Ghirardelli white chocolate wafers into small pieces and melt them over a double boiler set on low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Once melted, stir in ¼ cup of heavy cream until silky and well combined.
Pour the ganache over the cooled blondies, using an offset spatula to spread it evenly across the top. Decorate with a whole pretzel in the center and sprinkle additional white chocolate chips for a final touch. Let the ganache set before cutting the blondies into bars and serving.
Expert Tips
Cool the butter: Make sure your melted butter is cooled before mixing it with sugar—this helps create a smoother blondie batter without curdling the egg.
Do not overmix: When combining the wet and dry ingredients, mix until just combined. Overmixing will make your blondies denser and less tender, so it's okay if there are a few streaks of flour left when you fold in the chocolate and pretzels.
Ganache patience: Be careful when melting the white chocolate wafers—keep the heat low, and stir constantly. White chocolate can easily seize if it gets too hot, so slow and steady wins the race here.
Foil lining trick: Use foil to line your baking pan with enough overhang on the sides—this makes it super easy to lift the blondies out once they’re cool, ensuring a clean cut every time.
Serving Suggestions
These blondies are great on their own, but I also love serving them different ways!
- With a scoop of vanilla ice cream: Warm blondies with ice cream make for the ultimate indulgent dessert.
- Drizzled with extra white chocolate: Add a touch more sweetness with an extra drizzle just before serving.
- Paired with coffee or hot cocoa: Perfect for a cozy afternoon snack that feels extra special.
- With a sprinkle of sea salt: A light dusting of flaky sea salt enhances the sweet and salty contrast beautifully.
White Chocolate Pretzel Pumpkin Blondies
Ingredients
Pumpkin Blondies
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ cup unsalted butter melted-cooled
- 1 ½ cups light brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 15 ounces pumpkin puree (can)
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 cup white chocolate covered pretzels chopped
Ganache
- 6 ounces Ghirardelli white chocolate wafers chopped
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup white chocolate chips
- 1 cup pretzels
Instructions
- Move the oven rack to the center position.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Measure the foil with enough to have to overhang on all four sides.
- Line a 9 x 9 inch baking pan with foil.
- Work to make the foil fit into the corners of the pan.
- Spray the pan with nonstick baking spray.
Pumpkin Blondies
- Add butter in a medium bowl, put the bowl in the microwave set on medium until the butter has melted.
- Set the butter aside allowing it to slightly cool.
- Add in the sugar. With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until smooth.
- Continue mixing while adding both the eggs and vanilla.
- Slowly add in the pumpkin puree. Mix to combine.
- Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
- Use a rubber spatula to blend the dry ingredients in with the wet ingredients. Do not overmix.
- Add in the white chocolate chips and the chopped white chocolate covered pretzels.
- Use a rubber spatula to spread the batter in the baking pan and smooth the top of the batter. Sprinkle chopped pretzels on top.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and shiny.
- Remove from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack to cool.
Ganache
- Chop the white chocolate wafers into small pieces.
- Pour water in a double boiler.
- Add the chopped chocolate wafers to a bowl over the double boiler.
- Position the bowl so that it does not touch the heated water.
- Bring water to a low-heat. Stir constantly.
- Move the pot away from the heat, continuing to stir. Stir until all of the lumps have melted.
- Pour the ganaches over the blondies. Use an offset spatula to cover the pan of blondies.
- Add a pretzel on top of the ganache and sprinkle several white chocolate chips around the pretzel. Set aside.
- Cut into bars and serve.
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