i'd rather be baking

I can’t resist brownies straight out of the fridge. I mean, hot fudge is good and all, but there’s something about cold chocolate that’s just perfect…and dangerous. I’ll grab a bite before and after breakfast, and don’t even get me started on the late afternoon sleepies.

And okay, I like non-traditional desserts at Thanksgiving! I’m a huge fan of this pumpkin bread pudding — usually I make that and this apple pie. But this year I’m making a plain-Jane pumpkin pie for my dear husband. Sacrifices! So first I made these bars, naturally. Just to get the crazies out of my system.

Holy delicious. First we have a super rich brownie layer, with what basically amounts to pumpkin pie filling spread on top. I can’t think of anything I’d rather eat at the moment (especially straight out of the fridge), except perhaps a slice of pizza, but that’s another story. I realize it’s last minute, but leave your boring pies behind this year and mix it up! I bet you have all of the ingredients in your kitchen right now.

Pumpkin Pie Fudge Brownie Bars
How Sweet It Is

For the brownie layer:
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups sugar
10 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 325°F.

In a small bowl, beat eggs and vanilla and set aside. In a double boiler, add butter, cocoa, sugar and salt. Mix until the mixture becomes a batter – this will take approximately 10 minutes and at first will just look like clumps of cocoa power. Be patient! Remove the bowl from heat and whisk in the egg mixture (very slowly while whisking, so you don’t have scrambled eggs!) until combined. Stir in flour until batter is smooth, then pour in baking dish. Use a 9×13 dish for thin bars, and an 8×8 for thicker bars. For 9×13 dish, bake for 12-13 minutes. For an 8×8 dish, bake for about 18-20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely! Then make pumpkin layer.

For the pumpkin layer:
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 large egg
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup heavy cream*

Preheat oven to 425°F.

In a bowl, whisk together sugars and egg until smooth. Add in pumpkin and spice, again mixing until combine. Finish by adding in heavy cream, stirring until everything is mixed, then pour on top of the cooled brownie layer and spread evenly with a spatula. Bake for 10 minutes (9×13 dish) or 15 minutes (8×8 dish), then reduce heat to 325°F and bake for 18-20 minutes (9×13 dish)/22-25 minutes (8x8dish) or until pumpkin layer is set. Let cool completely (ideally overnight, or about 3-4 hours) then slice and serve.

*I used just under 1/2 cup skim milk, because it was what I had on hand! I added about an extra tablespoon of pumpkin to thicken things up a bit.