While I’m not a huge fan of the pumpkin spice latte, I do firmly believe that fall is the season of All Things Pumpkin: pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin BROWNIES. Oh yes, if you’ve never tried them, pumpkin brownies are amazing — extra moist and fudgy, with a hint of cinnamon and spice. (You can also make a pumpkin/cream cheese swirl and add it to your favorite boxed mix.) Whip up some treats for your book club, dazzle everyone at the holiday cookie exchange, or just bake up a pan and eat them all weekend to keep up your strength for reading.

And just as a little reminder, if you’re planning on crafting homemade holiday gifts, now’s the time to start! Check out our favorite holiday craft books from last year for some DIY inspiration (including a year’s worth of gingerbread houses). But make these pumpkin brownies first.

Pumpkin Brownies

Brownies

Full disclosure: these are MUCH prettier than my actual brownies, but you should get some swirl action.

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups butter, melted
3 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 eggs
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup chopped walnuts
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13x2 inch baking pan. Stir the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.

2. In another bowl, stir together the melted butter, sugar, and vanilla extract; beat in the eggs one at a time with a spoon. Gradually add the flour mixture, and stir the batter until it’s evenly moistened. Divide the batter in half in two separate bowls.

3. Into one bowl of batter, blend the cocoa powder and chocolate chips. In the second bowl of batter, stir in the pumpkin puree, walnuts, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.

4. Spread 1/2 of the chocolate batter into the bottom of the prepared baking pan, and follow with 1/2 of the pumpkin batter. Repeat the layers, ending with a pumpkin layer, and drag a kitchen knife or small spatula gently through the layers in a swirling motion, to create a marbled appearance.

5. Bake in the preheated oven until the brownies begin to pull away from the sides of the pan, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in the pan, cut into squares, and serve.

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Stephanie Perry
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