Fully baked pumpkin brownies

Fully baked pumpkin brownies

We had a lot of fun playing around with this recipe.  It came about because we had a request for a pumpkin brownie without chocolate.  Always up for a challenge, we got to work testing (and tasting) and this was our winning recipe.

Though the term “brownie” is used loosely because this is really a cross between pie, cake and brownie, the result is simply delicious.  We used a french variety of pumpkin called potimarron, a small, dark orange gourd, but this recipe would be great with kabocha or even butternut squash too.

Yield: 18-24 brownies

Ingredients:

Mise en place of pumpkin brownie ingredients2 cups pumpkin, roasted
10 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 1/4  cups brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

For the pumpkin:

Pre-heat oven to 350F degrees.

Slice pumpkin into 8 to 10 half-moons and remove the seeds.  Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and roast until pumpkin is tender and golden, about 30 minutes.  Remove and discard the skin and measure out 2 cups of the meat.

For the brownies:

Butter the sides and bottom of a 9×9-inch glass baking pan. Line the pan with parchment paper and set aside.

Place the butter, sugar and vanilla in a food processor and cream.  Transfer to a large bowl and whisk in the 3 eggs.

In a small bowl, sift the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

Alternating between the flower and pumpkin, fold a little of each into the creamed sugar until all is incorporated.

Pour mixture into prepared dish and bake 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it.