Pumpkin Swirl Brownies

PLEASE NOTE: I’ve remade/photographed these since. For the updated post click HERE.

These brownies are like the essential boot for fall.
They are like the perfect jacket, that just so happens to have birds on the lining.
They are like the comfy ankle boot.

Pumpkin + Chocolate. Who knew? I had my doubts. But after I made pumpkin cookies a bit ago, and now after these guys … I’m sold. Pumpkin and chocolate are meant to be.

Pumpkin Swirl Brownies
Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen + Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

• 8 T (1 stick), unsalted butter
• 6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 t baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 T pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups solid-packed pumpkin
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 t ground cinnamon
• 1/4 t ground nutmeg
• handful of chocolate chips to sprinkle on top (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan or dish, or line the pan with tin foil and spray with cooking spray. (The foil technique makes for super easy clean up and easy cutting. Once removed from the oven, simply lift the brownies out of the pan using the tin foil and cool on wire rack. This may be old news to you, but it’s a recent and exciting thing for me!!).
2. Melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth.
3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, cayenne, and salt in a large bowl; set aside. Put sugar, eggs, and vanilla in another large bowl and beat until fluffy and well combined, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in flour mixture.
4. Pour half of batter (about two cups) into a separate bowl and stir chocolate mixture into it.
5. In another bowl (I used the original dry ingredient bowl), stir in the pumpkin, oil, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Transfer half of chocolate batter to prepared pan smoothing top with a rubber spatula. Top with half of pumpkin batter. Repeat to make one more chocolate layer and one more pumpkin layer. Work quickly so batters don’t set. ( I found that my chocolate batter was a bit thick, while the pumpkin batter was a bit thin. Don’t worry about it. The swirling will be pretty, I promise. AND delicious.
6. With a small spatula or a table knife, gently swirl the two batters to create a marbled effect. Sprinkle with chocolate chips, if using.
7. Bake until set, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into 16 squares (or a various other amount and shapes…like me. I have trouble cutting equal sizes, in case you didn’t notice).

Note: My brownies got a bit crackly on top. It’s ok though. They are still really pretty and I’ve been eating them like they are going out of style.