In 2024, the Joetta Di Bella and Fred C. Sautter III Center for Strategic Communication in the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University released a study about the ongoing popularity of pumpkin spice lattes.
Apparently, according to their study, apple spice was starting to edge out pumpkin on the popularity scale last year, but companies were still churning out all kinds of pumpkin-spice-themed products for the season.
I don’t know if Montclair reprised the study for 2025, but what I know I can get behind is the common denominator between both pumpkin and apple spice anything: cinnamon.
As a general rule, I view cinnamon as a year-round addition in my baking, but now that we’re having some crisper days, it’s on my radar even more.
Plus, I had a bag of cinnamon baking chips taking up space in my freezer, and with a gathering at the office on the calendar, it seemed like the perfect time to use them up.
The recipe I’m sharing with you comes from the blog “Keep it Sweet Desserts” by Lauren Lilling. You can find her original post at https://www.keepitsweetdesserts.com/cinnamon-chip-oatmeal-blondies/. I loved her amount of vanilla, but I did decide to add some cinnamon in my version and only used one bag of cinnamon chips.
Cinnamon Chip Oatmeal Blondies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 3 cups brown sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 cup old-fashioned or quick oats
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 10 ounces cinnamon baking chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a nine-by-13-inch baking dish by lining it with parchment paper, and set it aside.
- Add the butter and brown sugar to a saucepan and heat over medium, stirring constantly until the mixture is melted and smooth. Remove it from the heat, and set it aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla, and then beat in the butter/sugar mixture until smooth. Stir in the flour, oats, salt, cinnamon and baking powder until it is just combined, and then fold in the cinnamon chips.
- Transfer the batter to your prepared pan, and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let the bars cool before slicing, and store them in an airtight container.
These got rave reviews at our office party. I didn’t pack up a single one at the end of the night.
The bottoms were crisp, and the rest of the bars were soft, creating a great texture combo. And I was especially happy with the addition of the cinnamon in addition to the baking chips. I think it gave the whole blondie a little more warmth. And the oatmeal was a nice flavor addition, too.
I’ll have to put these on rotation for holiday snack tables this year.
Because although the pumpkin spice study claimed that people are experiencing a bit of fatigue with the flavor, since it’s been popping up all over the place, hopefully we can all agree that cinnamon is timeless. We don’t need a study to tell us that one.
This piece first appeared in print Oct. 9, 2025.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.
