Our First Recipe

It's our first recipe post! hurray!

You can't really go wrong when you put pumpkin, chocolate, and halloween together, and this is just another example of that.

The one thing I will say about this recipe is that pumpkin puree is a tricky ingredient to bake with because it is so gooey. In the case of these brownies it was hard to tell when they were actually done. Usually you can simply insert a toothpick into the center of your brownie and when it come out with a few crumbs then they are done but in the case of this recipe it never seemed to come out clean no matter...so, if by 45 minutes the center of your brownie is still oober goey, keep baking it for 5-10 more minutes watching it carefully and wait till the middle firms up slightly. Once out of the oven I let my brownies sit for about an hour until they were completely cooled and set. The middle was still slightly less firm but still delicious. 

Even though the baking time is a bit finicky these brownies are a truly delicious Fall treat. I'm thinking of making them again for Thanksgiving...but I may not be able to wait that long!

(I made my brownie is a pie pan but a 9x9 square pan in preferable)

Pumpkin Swirl Brownies

adapted from Martha Stewart

1/2 cup of unsalted butter (1 stick or 8 tablespoons)

6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (bittersweet works too!)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

4 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups (packed) pumpkin puree *not pumpkin pie filling

1/4 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon maple syrup

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 tea ground ginger

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9x9 baking pan (or pie pan in my case). Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and butter the sides. 

Melt the chocolate chips and butter until smooth either in the microwave or over a pan of simmering water.

In a large bowl whisk together the flours, baking powder, salt, and cayenne.

In a separate bowl (or if you have an electric mixer use that!) beat the sugar, eggs, and vanilla until well combined and thick. Slowly beat in the flour mixture.  

Divide your batter into two bowls. I scooped two cups into another medium sized bowl and that was about even. 

In a small bowl quickly whisk together the pumpkin puree, canola oil, maple syrup, cinnamon, and ginger.

In your first bowl of batter, stir in your melted chocolate and butter.

In the other bowl, stir in your pumpkin mixture. 

Pour half of the chocolate batter into your prepared pan. Top with half of your pumpkin batter, Repeat with the rest of your batter. 

With a butter knife, lightly swirl the layers together to create that fancy marbled effect.

Bake for 40-45 minutes until set. You can tell it is down when the top no longer jiggles.

Once your brownies are out of the oven let them cool in the pan for as long as you'd like before cutting them! I drizzled caramel sauce over my piece :)

Here is a good looking recipe if you so desire. caramel sauce