Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies

Is it fall yet?  I wish it was, I love everything about fall.  The colors, the cooler crisp air, and don't get me started on fall baking.  What other time of the year do you have an excuse (and a kitchen cool enough) to bake everything and anything you want?  In New England the spring is wet, as is the winter so making a spur of the moment trip to the grocery store to lug in ingredients to bake on a whim just isn't reasonable.  And even with air conditioning, baking in the summer is sometimes almost unbearable.  But there comes this point, about the beginning of September, and it lasts through the end of fall and maybe the start of winter, where it just seems the most ideal time to bake.  Open the window's, let the cool air wash away the stale summer air in your home, and just bake.  And...if you're 7 months pregnant this urge is spurred on even more by that wonderful nesting instinct. 



Monday was one of those perfect baking nesting instinct driven days.  1 loaf of pumpkin spice bread (the recipe I've decided needs some tweaking), a dozen pumpkin spice muffins, 2 batches of pumpkin chocolate chip brownies, and another 2 apple braids (had some extra thawed pastry puffs I needed to do away with and some apples on hand.)  The best part, is that the muffins, bread, and brownies all can be made from 1 30-oz can of pumpkin.  Or, I suppose if you're one of those people crafty enough (and with enough time on your hands) to carve out a pumpkin and make it from scratch...you could probably make it from 1 pumpkin.

While I'm still perfecting the bread recipe...hope to have that nailed out by the end of the season, I'm pretty sure these pumpkin chocolate chip brownies are pretty much to die for.  I did learn that while when it comes to most things with chocolate chips more is usually better... that's not so true for these brownies.  Definitely stick to the half a cup that's in the recipe...and if that half a cup is a little shy that's alright.  The spice from the pumpkin mixture is so wonderful that too much chocolate almost over powers it and doesn't give the same desired results of a brownie form of a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie.  I got the recipe online so I should preface that I didn't come up with it.  But it was too good to not share, and a great way to use left over pumpkin if you're already baking.

Anyway, without further adieu... here you have it.

Yield: 24 small brownies

1/2 cup pumpkin puree (1 15 oz can will let you make 2 batches of these)
1 whole egg
2 egg whites
1 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350˚F.  Line an 11″- x 7″-inch pan with parchment paper (or grease your pan)

In a large bowl, combine pumpkin puree, eggs and oil until smooth.  Set aside.

In a separate medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, spices, salt and brown sugar.  Add to the wet ingredients and mix until thoroughly incorporated.  Stir in the chocolate chips.

Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly.  Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until passes toothpick test.  Cool completely before cutting.

I used a regular 8x8 pan so my cooking time was a little more, and of course yielded less brownies per batch.  They were also thicker.  After seeing how thick they came out, it will in fact fit in the larger pan.  I was going to do it in the larger but I looked at the amount of batter and said "no way."  well... Yea...way.

  They're SO moist and delicious and stay moist, which is even better.  Hope you enjoy and here's to a fantastic fall baking season!!!