Fall Home Finds + Salted Caramel Sweet Potato Blondies Recipe

Last Fall, I shared a post about some of my favorite things about the season, including this pumpkin donuts with cream cheese frosting recipe. 🙂 This year, I am sharing 4 Fall home finds plus my salted caramel sweet potato blondies recipe. With the changing season comes more opportunities to open up your home and food is usually involved so I thought it would be fitting to hit y’all with a recipe and some easy ways I’ve made things more cozy and welcoming around the house. It’s the second in my Fall focus on the wonderful, versatile sweet potato. The first was this spicy chipotle skillet meal. Let’s get into it!

Seasonal Scents

Like every other basic girl out there, Bath & Body Works is my go-to for Fall scents. Pumpkin is the siren song of Fall but there is a great variety of other seasonally-appropriate scents out there. Think dark berries, juniper, woods, warm spices, and vanilla. I’ve built up quite a stash from couponing over the years so I don’t actually shop every season but below are my favorite fall scented soaps and candles currently available online.

Candles: Sweater Weather, Leaves, Chestnut & Clove, Pumpkin Apple, Spiced Apple Toddy, Golden Amber & Oak

Soaps: Afternoon Apple Picking, Black Cherry Merlot, Golden Pear

Plant Life

I slow down on bringing in fresh flowers when the weather changes but do take advantage of the antique hydrangeas and richly-colored mums which are abundant around this time of year, whether potted or cut. Seasonally-colored and scented faux or dried foliage is another good option that you can keep in your rotation for years to come. I found a bunch at Michael’s for 70% a little while back. Here are all my fresh and faux flower hacks for picking the best ones while sticking to a budget.

Cozy Fabrics

As temperatures drop, the desire to snuggle up in coziness rises. I changed up some of my pillow coverings (tutorial here) and DIYed faux fur seat covers for the ghost chairs in my dining room (tutorial here). These are easy and inexpensive ways to freshen up the look of your space and can be changed out seasonally.

Pumpkins (Duh!)

Grocery and craft storefronts have been overtaken by all kinds of gourds and the aforementioned mums. Here in Houston, H-E-B seems to have the best variety and, although my dining room is a work in progress at the moment, I plan to incorporate Blue Jarrahdale, Cinderella, and mini pumpkins into the tablescape once complete. Mini pumpkins are an easy way to add a seasonal touch no matter the size of your home. Fill a bowl or vase with them for a formal dining room tabletop or group two or three together in smaller rooms or on surfaces such as your coffee table.

Salted Caramel Sweet Potato Blondies Recipe

One of the most enjoyable ways to bring the season into your home is by baking seasonal treats. I shared these chai-spiced pumpkin snickerdoodles and this easy classic apple pie in September, my 7 favorite fall apple recipes last week, and now have these salted caramel sweet potato blondies for you to add to your rotation. They’re so simple to make and egg-free, in case you’re into that kind of thing. 🙂 Real roasted sweet potato is mixed right into the batter then swirled with salted caramel to yield a decadent dessert that has become my new favorite!

Ingredients

• 1 sweet potato, roasted and scooped out of skin
• 11-ounce bag of caramel candies
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 teaspoons + 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup milk (I use unsweetened almond)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In one bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.
3. In another bowl, mix together sweet potato, butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and milk.
4. Add wet mixture to dry mixture and mix well. Spread into a square baking pan and set aside.
5. Add caramel candies, sea salt, and water to a nonstick saucepan and melt over medium heat. Stir together to form salted caramel sauce (should be very sticky).
6. Drizzle salted caramel sauce over batter and swirl batter and sauce together with a spoon or spatula.
7. Bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
8. Let cool completely then cut into squares.

Makes 8 blondies.

What are your favorite finds and recipes for Fall? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

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