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Pumpkin White Chocolate Fudge Bars with Caramel Glaze (or Cupcakes)

Author: Kelly the Kitchen Kop

Ingredients

Glaze ingredients:

Instructions

  • Makes one 8×8 pan, 24 mini muffins full, or 12 regular muffins.
  • Preheat oven to 350*.  Place muffin liners in your muffin pans, or butter an 8×8 
    baking panif you're using that.
  • Melt white chocolate and butter in a medium saucepan over low-medium heat until melted, whisk together.  Add in sugar, vanilla, and pumpkin, whisk well.  Add egg last and whisk that in. Fold in sea salt, spices, and flour without over-mixing.  Spoon into muffin cups until full almost to the top, or pour into the pan.
  • Bake an 8×8 pan for about 30 minutes, mini-muffins for about 10-15 minutes, and regular sized muffins about 15-20 minutes.  Timing all depends your oven temp, so check when it's getting close and you'll know it's done when a toothpick comes out clean.
  • While it's baking, work on the glaze…  Melt 1/4 cup butter in a small saucepan, and let it brown just a little bit.  (I do this by turning the heat on high and be ready to shut it off quick as it browns just a touch so it doesn't burn.)  Add vanilla and powdered sugar, whisk well to get any lumps out.  Add a few drops of milk as needed to get a nice consistency that will drizzle over the bars/cupcakes easily.  Not too much or it'll be runny.  This is so caramely and wonderful!
  • When the bars/cupcakes are mostly cool, drizzle the caramel glaze over top.  Drizzle extra on the plates, just because it's pretty, but also because it's SO delicious.

Make-ahead note:

  • I made these a few days ahead for Thanksgiving, so I put the dough into the muffin pan, covered well and froze them.  Thanksgiving morning I'll pull them out of the freezer and later bake shortly before serving.  I'll make the glaze that morning and later when it's time to drizzle it over the top, I'll heat it back up just a little, check the consistency, and add a bit more milk if needed, whisking well as you go so it's smooth and dreamy.