Pumpkin and Chocolate. You either love it or hate it, right? Personally, I’m kind of a fan; however, in my opinion nothing beats the combination of cream cheese and pumpkin. And in case you haven’t noticed I’m pretty much a self-proclaimed pumpkin addict – if nothing else, this girl is self-aware.
In order to satisfy my pumpkin addiction and Brian’s incessant chocolate cravings, I decided to combine our favorite flavors into one decadent dessert – Pumpkin Brownies.
A sweet and spicy combination of pumpkin and cream cheese is layered between rich, fudgy brownies and topped with chocolate ganache to create an indulgent treat that’s perfect for any Fall feast!
I imagine presenting these Pumpkin Brownies to a Thanksgiving table would lead to plenty of oohs and ahs! Who could possibly resist the swirled center and glistening layer of chocolate?
Let me know where you stand – pumpkin and chocolate, pumpkin and cream cheese, or all of the above?
Pumpkin Brownies
Yield: 12 brownies
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30-35 minutes
Ingredients:
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate; coarsely chopped
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup Gold Medal all-purpose flourFor the Pumpkin Swirl
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons homemade pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extractFor the Ganache
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy creamDirections:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8×8 inch baking pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Microwave chocolate and butter in a large microwave-safe bowl at medium (50% power) for 3-4 minutes or until butter is melted. While the chocolate is melting, prepare the pumpkin layer. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, pumpkin puree, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer well combined and smooth. Set aside.
3. Once the butter is melted, remove the bowl from the microwave and stir until chocolate is melted. Whisk in sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt. Gradually add in flour; stir until just combined.
4. Spread 3/4 the batter into prepared pan. Spoon pumpkin filling by tablespoonfuls evenly over batter. Spoon remaining brownie batter over filling. Use a knife or wooden skewer to cut through the batter several times in different directions to create a swirled pattern. Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes - do not overbake
5. Remove to cooling rack to cool completely. Before serving, prepare the ganache.
6. To make the ganache, pour the chopped chocolate into a medium mixing bowl, set aside. Pour the heavy cream into a microwave safe measuring cup (Pyrex) and microwave on high for about 1 minute or until bubbles begin to form on the surface. Take care to not overheat because the cream will boil over. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and allow it to sit for about 3 minutes. Use a small whisk to combine the mixture into a smooth chocolate glaze. Spoon the ganache over the brownies.
Source: My Baking Addiction
Disclosure
This post is part of an ongoing relationship between My Baking Addiction and Gold Medal Flour. In June of 2012, My Baking Addiction attended a Farm to Table event in Kansas City to learn why Gold Medal has been America’s flour of choice for 125 years. Although this is a sponsored post, the views and opinions expressed are our own and based upon our personal experiences with Gold Medal Flour.
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{ 34 comments… read them below or add one }
These look unreal! Love that ganache…it looks drinkable!
If these are HALF as good as your apple pie bread…I’m in!!!
I made another bread yesterday at 5pm…gone by 5pm today…
Is there any way to adapt your recipes for use with gluten-free flour???
Any help on this would be great..
Love Love Love your blog…
Cheers!
)
Linda
I too was wondering about making these gluten free. I am going to attempt this weekend to bring to a Halloween party. I plan on doing a 1:1 replacement of the All purpose flour with my all purpose gluten free flour and toss in some Xantham gum per some research I have done on this substituting.
Kevin-
Thanks so much for stopping by. I honestly have zero experience with gluten free baking, so if this works well for you, let me know! Have a great day.
-Jamie
I am happy to report my plan to make these Gluten Free worked perfectly!
I replaced the All Purpose flour with an equal amount of All Purpose Gluten Free Flour Mix (the brand I have is Bob’s Red Mill). I also included 1/2 tsp Xantham Gum in with the flour. I followed all other steps per the recipe.
They were just as delicious as I hoped and were a hit at the party. I never mentioned they were Gluten Free until people had eaten them. My uncle was surprised and said he wouldn’t have know.
Oh one other change I made was in the chocolate. I only had 70% dark cocoa bars so I used those instead of the unsweetened.
Thanks for your feedback, Kevin! I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe and that it worked well with your gluten free adaptations! Have a great day!
-Jamie
My goodness gracious!!!! ALL of the freakin’ above!!!! I need to make these!
WOW! Those look amazing and that chocolate glaze has my mouth watering as we speak : )
Well these Clearly need to be actioned in my kitchen!! o.O Wowzer!!
All pumpkin, all the time…any which way, or with anything!
ALL OF THE ABOVE! Also, this just screams fabulousness.
These look amazing! I live in London and my colleagues and friends aren’t sure about pumpkin like us Americans! Think this would easily convince them that pumpkin should be in as many bakes as possible in the fall!
I am so looking forward to making these! I’m in for both…..I haven’t always been a pumpkin person, but once I jumped on the bandwagon; I was HOOKED!
Mmm, I love how rich these brownies look! I’m personally a huge fan of the pumpkin/chocolate combo–I like adding a ton of chocolate chips to my pumpkin bread for a pop of sweetness.
This looks like a potential love affair for me, have to try it. BTW the apple pie bread AMAZING, planning to make a pumpkin version tonight.
I’ve never actually TRIED the pumpkin/chocolate combo…but the photos of these brownies has me convinced I would LOVE it!!
Love it all!!! These look FABULOUS!!!!
Wow! These look amazing! They look like they would translate well to being gluten and egg free, too, especially since the pumpkin cream cheese part doesn’t have eggs in it! I’ll have to try it!
These look fantastic! seriously. and I like how they’re in keeping with the upcoming halloween! in england we do traditional bakes such as parkin for halloween and our other holiday bonfire night, there’s a recipe on my blog gingerbreadlad.blogspot.com for parkin, you should try it!
I made these today to take to a women’s group board meeting and everyone just LOVED them.
I can’t even remember for sure if I’ve ever had pumpkin and chocolate…I guess I’ll have to try it out and see if I like it!
Holy molly! These brownies look so incredibly rich and delicious! I’m definitely putting them on my “To Bake” list! I’ve tried pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, but never pumpkin brownies. I can’t wait to try these
I’m definitely an “all of the above” kind of girl! That shiny, melty chocolate ganache is dreamy.
Oh, those would definitely get “oohs and ahhhs” around here! I love the combination!!
Oh wow do these look good!
These brownies look gorgeous!
yummy! These must be really tasty and chocolaty!
pumpkin + chocolate – I, for one, LOVE it! There are so many pumpkin brownies swirling around the blog world but I’ve never seen any with such a luscious, rich, smooth ganache on top. A beautiful brownie. just gorgeous. I want one with my coffee right now.
The brownies look so rich and sinful! I can’t wait to try!
These are awesome! Just made them last night.
I just made these and they are amazing! Thank you!
These look so good! I love chocolate and pumpkin, I like to make a chocolate chip pumpkin cheesecake for the holidays. Im out of heavy cream, do you think I could whip the heck out of milk? Or should I just torture myself and wait until I get some heavy cream?
I am a very hesitant baker, but my husband challenged me with these brownies. I couldn’t believe as fancy an decadent as they look, they weren’t difficult. They were absolutely delicious and I will make them again…I have to, still have puree to use.
I made 2 pans of these today, one for home and one for work, my family loved them, took in to work and they went crazy for them, one of the girls said they were better than sex, another said they were the best brownies she had ever had, Thanks so much for this recipe, it is one of the best, got my chocolate and my pumpkin fix all at one time,