Chocolate Pumpkin Brownies — Rich, fudgy brownies made with pumpkin and chocolate chips!! An EASY, no mixer pumpkin brownie recipe that’s FASTER than using a boxed mix! Bring on pumpkin spice season!!
Fudgy Brownie Recipe … with Canned Pumpkin!
I have lots of brownie recipes, but there’s always room for one more. Especially when the brownies are topped with pumpkin and chocolate chips.
I used my favorite brownie base for these easy pumpkin brownies. It’s an easy, one-bowl, no-mixer recipe that’s as fast as using a boxed mix.
Simply melt chocolate and butter together, add sugar, eggs, flour, and just stir everything together. So easy. It’s a brownie base I’ve fallen in love with because it’s easy, I don’t have to break out my mixer, and it always delivers amazing results.
Then you add the pumpkin layer, which is just sweetened pumpkin puree, an egg yolk, and plenty of pumpkin pie spice before topping with chocolate chips.
The pumpkin puree brownies are so fudgy with zero cakiness. The pumpkin layer on top keeps them extra moist and the chocolate chips add texture and even more chocolate flavor.
The brownies are nicely flavored with pumpkin but are not overwhelmed by it. I love pairing pumpkin with chocolate but I like them both to shine through equally.
Ingredients for Chocolate Pumpkin Brownies
I made these pumpkin brownies without cream cheese since that’s just one more thing to bring to room temperature and swirl into the batter.
For the super straightforward pumpkin chocolate brownies, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Dark chocolate
- Eggs
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Brewed coffee
- Instant espresso granules (not ground coffee)
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
- Pumpkin puree
- Light brown sugar
- Pumpkin pie spice
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
How to Make Chocolate Pumpkin Brownies
Like I already mentioned, this pumpkin brownie recipe is a cinch to make.
I’ve given full ingredient measurements and instructions in the recipe card at the end of the post, but here’s an overview of how to make brownies with canned pumpkin puree:
- Stir together the brownie batter, then turn it into a greased 8×8-inch square pan.
- Stir together the pumpkin layer and carefully smooth it over the raw brownie batter.
- Sprinkle with chocolate chips before baking at 350ºF. Use your best judgement when deciding whether the pumpkin brownies are finished baking or not.
Tip: The toothpick test is tricky here since you’ll hit melted chocolate chips and a gooey pumpkin layer, but test a few patches and when inserting the toothpick into the deepest brownie layer, it should feel ‘thick’ and set and not runny.
Can I Omit the Coffee?
You don’t have to use coffee and/or add the espresso granules to these homemade brownies from scratch if you don’t want to.
But before you say no, know that you can’t taste the coffee and the brownies don’t taste like coffee. When adding coffee or espresso to chocolate cakes or brownies, it simply brings out and heightens the chocolate flavor without leaving a coffee taste at all.
Is There a Pumpkin Pie Spice Substitute I Can Use?
If pumpkin pie spice isn’t sold in your area or you ran out, you can make your own blend at home using this recipe.
Can the Recipe Be Doubled?
Yes, very easily! Just double the ingredients list and bake the brownies in a 9×13-inch pan. The bake time should remain roughly the same.
Can the Brownies Be Made in Advance?
Absolutely! The pumpkin chocolate brownies need at least 2 hours to set up at room temperature being sliced, but you could make these up to 2 days before slicing and serving. The pumpkin keeps the brownies moist and soft!
Tips for Making Pumpkin Chocolate Brownies
Chocolate: For this pumpkin brownie recipe, I used chocolate from a Trader Joe’s 72% Pound Plus bar. If you don’t have a TJ’s your area, then I recommend using a high quality dark(er) chocolate.
The higher percentage the chocolate has, the darker it is, and also the less sweet it is. I would not go over 80%, nor would I go under about 60% because for me that wouldn’t have enough dark chocolate richness.
Pumpkin puree: Also note that you need to use canned pumpkin puree for this homemade brownie recipe and NOT canned pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling is sweetened and spiced and will mess up the flavor of these brownies.
Cooling time: Finally, you need to let these pumpkin brownies cool for a good 2 hours before slicing them. The pumpkin layer firms up as it cools, and if you try to cut into these brownies right away you’ll make a mess.
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Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Brownies
Rich, fudgy brownies topped with pumpkin and chocolate chips!! An EASY, no mixer pumpkin brownie recipe that's FASTER than using a boxed mix! Bring on pumpkin spice season!!
Ingredients
For the Brownies:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 6 ounces dark or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used Trader Joe’s 72% Pound Plus Bar)
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon brewed coffee (leftover or cold coffee is okay), optional but recommended
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso granules, optional but recommended
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
For the Pumpkin Layer:
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 large egg yolk (discard white)
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 to 2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
Make the Brownie Batter:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-inch square pan with aluminum foil leaving overhang and spray with cooking spray, or grease and flour the pan; set aside.
- To a large microwave-safe bowl, add the butter, chocolate, and heat on high power to melt, about 2 minutes. Stop to check and stir after 1 minute. Heat in 15-second increments until chocolate has melted and mixture can be stirred smooth.
- Allow mixture to cool momentarily before adding the eggs so they don’t scramble. Add the eggs, sugar, vanilla, optional coffee, optional espresso granules (neither make brownies taste like coffee and both enhance and round out the chocolate flavor), and whisk vigorously to combine.
- Add the flour, salt, and stir until smooth and combined without overmixing.
- Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula as necessary; set aside.
- To a medium bowl, add all ingredients except the chocolate chips.
- Turn pumpkin mixture out over the brownie layer, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula as needed.
- Evenly sprinkle with the chocolate chips and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes, or until brownies are done. The toothpick test is tricky since you’ll hit melted chocolate chips and a gooey pumpkin layer (it sets up more as the brownies cool), but test a few patches and when inserting the toothpick into the deepest brownie layer, it should feel ‘thick’ and set and not runny.
- Allow brownies to cool uncovered on a wire rack for about 2 hours before slicing. Brownies will keep airtight at room temp for up to 1 week.
Make the Pumpkin Layer:
Notes
Recipe adapted from my Loaded Oreo Cream Cheese Brownies.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
9Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 405Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 110mgSodium: 152mgCarbohydrates: 41gFiber: 4gSugar: 26gProtein: 7g
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These are some of the best brownies I’ve tasted. And they were easy to make. I loved them and my kids did too. I love this time of the year with all the pumpkin inspired recipes – even for chocolate brownies. Thanks for a great recipe.
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad these are some of the best brownies you’ve had!
I loved the recipe but the nutrition info confuses me quite a bit since the whole pan has 24kcal according to it (which would be awesome), could you maybe correct it?
Alsop I love your blog and your lovely recipes :)
Rita
It’s an auto-generated program and not always perfect. You can do the math by hand adding up every single ingredient’s caloric value after you look them up on Google and then dividing by the number of servings. I don’t have time to do that by hand.
Haven’t made them yet but have a get together coming up and want to make probably a double batch of them to take there. Thanks for the recipes
Merry
You’re welcome!
Oh yes ! You rock !
Love how these are layered! :)
Thanks and have a great weekend!
The perfect fall brownie and they definitely look super fudgy delicious! Love the chocolate-pumpkin combination!
You can’t go wrong with chocolate + pumpkin when it’s super fudgy :) Enjoy your weekend Paula!
I am so excited to try these! They look ultra fudgy and perfect to enjoy with a latte on a fall afternoon!
They’re definitely super fudgy! Enjoy your weekend!