Primo Pumpkin Brownies
I’m not sure of the provenance of this recipe originally. If I can find out, I’ll give credit or a link back to the original. In the meantime, do warm-up your autumn tastebuds for a quintessential “pumpkin” recipe. You will find these so-called brownies to be moist and pumpkin-y but not so sweet as to make you gag like so much of the oft-overdone pumpkin spice goodies these days. That being said, it can be easy to over indulge if these little beauties are cut into bite-sized pieces. You just pop them in your mouth, one after the other, until the entire plate is empty. I’m not speaking from experience–wink wink!
Seriously, we served these last Saturday at the store and they were a big hit even for folks who are not necessarily pumpkin fans. We dolled ours up with some jimmies that you can purchase in the store. For an even jazzier presentation, we have sprinkle assortments featuring either Halloween themed sprinkles or autumn-themed sprinkles. In the meantime, here’s the recipe for you to try at home. Maybe you can share it with your co-workers, or take some to your bank, or send some to your child’s class, or just eat them all when no-one is looking…
Primo Pumpkin Brownies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup canned pumpkin packed solid
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice*
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup toffee baking bits
- 1 batch white chocolate cream cheese frosting recipe below
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray an 8" square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray or grease the pan with butter.
- Beat brown sugar, butter, and vanilla in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the egg; beat until fluffy. Add the flour, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and salt; beat at low speed just until blended. Stir in toffee bits. Spread batter evenly in the prepared pan.
- Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan set upon a wire rack. Prepare the frosting and spread over the cooled brownies.
- White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting: - Heat 2 tbsp whipping cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until almost boiling - remove from heat. - Add 4 oz chopped white chocolate; stir until completely melted. Cool slightly. - Beat 6 oz softened cream cheese and 1/3 cup powdered sugar (sifted) in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed for about 1 minute or until fluffy. - Add white chocolate mixture; beat until smooth.
- * A substitute for pumpkin pie spice: 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1/4 tsp ground allspice 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg