Jade Keller

Wanna know how to make these yummy creatures?
I’d been getting some complaints that I haven’t been doing any taste tests lately. So this week, you’ll not get just one…you’ll get THREE new taste tests. Starting with this baby. Pumpkin pie brownies.

I came across a website with a recipe for vegan pumpkin pie brownies and I was all over that. I had grand visions of baking a batch and entering it into the bake-off for the IV Co-op’s County Fair yesterday. If you clicked on that link, you’ll see what they were supposed to look like.

This is what they actually looked like:
FAIL. See that splooge? My brownies ain’t pos’d to have no splooge. They tasted alright…but they were gooey. And messy. And I was grumpy.

And I couldn’t let it go either. I dreamt about them. I tossed and turned over them. And woke up this morning determined to make it right. Because I’m religious when it comes to my cooking and I’m pretty sure pumpkin pie brownies deserve to be discovered properly.

I thought about it, and I really think this is something that should be fairly easy, but there are a couple of key principles one must follow to ensure moist yumminess that is not splooge-ville. When I made the first batch, I thought the pumpkin pie mixture was waaaay too runny. I think the real problem was that the recipe called for far too much milk. So that’s problem number one.  They also took almost double the time to bake compared to what the recipe called for, so that was problem number two. I think that can be fixed by first fixing how wet the mixture was, and then, by knowing what to look for to know when they are done.

I think it can be done properly with just about any brownie recipe and pumpkin pie recipe. So vegans can use the recipe link above, but maybe adjust as I discuss below here. But to emphasize how easy this can be, I went to Trader Joe’s and got a brownie mix and a can of pureed pumpkin. (And some chocolate for drizzling.)
And basically, I just followed the recipes on the brownie box for the brownie layer and the pumpkin can for the pumpkin pie layer. So even if you don’t have a Trader Joe’s, you can get these items from just about any grocery store and do the same thing. Just keep those principles I mentioned in mind!

Instructions
I preheated my oven to 350 degrees. (The brownie mix called for 350, the pumpkin can called for 375. I chose the lower amount because I wanted to make sure it cooked evenly through and didn’t char the edges too much, even if baking might take longer. Note: I used a square 8 x 8 brownie pan. If you use a rectangular pan, you can get the thinner brownies and maybe even lessen the cooking time.) I lined my pan with wax paper and lightly greased the paper.

Brownie Layer
Following the box instructions, I mixed 2 eggs, 1 stick of butter (melted until creamy – about 1.5 mins. in the microwave), and the brownie mix. I poured it all into the pan, and with a spatula, spread it out into an even layer.

Pumpkin Layer
Following the instructions on the 15 oz. can, I mixed the pumpkin, 2 eggs, 3/4 cup of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and a pinch each of: cloves, nutmeg, and allspice. (I added more spices than the can recommended. I like my spices.) I whisked it all up until it was smooth. Now, the can said I should use 1 cup of heavy cream and 1/2 cup of whole milk. Heck no! said I. I had on hand some fat-free half and half (And no, I don’t really understand how you get fat-free half and half. I just nod and smile at the wonders of technology). You could probably use regular half and half, evaporated milk, or whole milk just as well. How much did I use? Just 1/4 of a cup. No way, right? Way. It was just enough to make it thinner than custard, but not liquidy, runny splooge. Don’t want no splooge, remember? This is what the consistency looked like:
Can you see up in there? If you run your finger along the edge of the mixture (and taste it), you’ll get a nice clean edge. If you pull out the whisk, you’ll form some super soft peaks. Thinner than custard. But not super liquidy. So principle #1: Don’t let the pumpkin mixture get too runny.

Then I poured this very carefully over the brownie layer, enough to cover the brownies as it’s spread out, but still leaving a thin brownie edge around the sides. Like this:
I did not use all the pumpkin mixture. I only used about half. I think if I had used a larger, rectangular pan, I probably would have used just about all of the mixture. That’s probably a good idea if you want them to end up half-brownie, half-pumpkin pie. These end up more like 3/4 brownie, 1/4 pumpkin pie.

Then I popped it into the oven and baked them at 350 for about an hour. I would say, start checking on them around 45 minutes. This is where principle #2 comes in. Be sure to bake them long enough you don’t have any splooge – but of course not too long so you end up with super dry brownies. The pumpkin layer helps keep them moist so they can bake longer than they might normally, but still you want to keep an eye on it. I would say it probably takes between 50 minutes to 65 or 70 minutes, depending on your oven and the thickness of your brownies.

This is how you know they’re done: The pumpkin layer should look firm – doesn’t jiggle a bunch. No belly-dancing pumpkin shimmies here. And when you stick a knife in the center, you can tell the pumpkin is set and the knife comes out fairly cleanly. Don’t get paranoid and over-bake them though because they do set a bit as you let them cool.

When they’re done, just pull them out of the oven and let cool for a couple of hours outside on the counter. (But away from nosy dogs and prying husbands.)

When they’re about done, remember that bar of chocolate I had you get? Pop a few bars of it in the microwave for about a minute to melt. Stir the melted chocolate up with a spoon and carefully (or flamboyantly – whatever) drizzle chocolate over the brownies. Cut ‘em up in bite-size morsels and serve.

TA DA! Look! No splooge. Just moist, rich yummy goodness. When you’ve finished consuming them (with milk, in the bathroom, in the dark, hiding your gluttony from your husband), hop on over to the stair-master because when I say rich, I mean RICH. If only these were currency on Wall Street….

My rating:
♥♥♥♥ Wow this is amazing for a special meal!

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Rating System:
♥♥♥♥♥ Omigod this is awesome, I could eat it every night!
♥♥♥♥ Wow this is amazing for a special meal!
♥♥♥ Great choice for a dinner party!
♥♥ Hey, that was pretty good. We should have it again sometime.
♥ Eh. S’all right….
♠ Ugh, no! That was so bad I just had to share.