These Pumpkin Swirl Brownies are a fall staple in our house. Filled with warm fall spices and a gorgeous pumpkin swirl, this is our favorite way to welcome back pumpkin season!
As soon as the temperatures drop a little, it is pumpkin baking season every day! My kids just love every thing pumpkin (and so do I!), so we always look forward to making these brownies. It is a little more fussy than my other brownie recipes, but the kids help making the steps.
We are huge brownie fans! These salted caramel brownies are probably my all-time favorites. Then there are these best-ever chocolate raspberry brownies (super decadent!). And for the vegans: vegan matcha brownies are crazy good!! But back to these pumpkin delights!
Are you in instagram? Hope over and check out the REEL we made of these brownies!
Have you been experiencing fall in beautiful weather and flavors? Have you been craving any thing pumpkin? I have and I have been craving these pumpkin swirl brownies! I haven’t made them in a while and thought since the temperatures cooled a little, the timing was right!
I was seriously looking at the calendar waiting until the first day of fall happened so I could make something pumpkin and not feel silly. Have you ever baked something pumpkin in the summer? Do you have extra cans of pumpkin in your pantry at the end of fall?
I do and I have baked something pumpkin in the summer and it just didn’t feel right. There wasn’t any thing wrong with the recipe and my kids weren’t complaining at all! Actually they were super happy! But for me, it just was off. It was still too hot to pretend fall was around. Now there is no way that it will seem off and I can happily bake away with pumpkin, so I will!
If you aren’t much of a pie baker and want to make something pumpkin for Thanksgiving, this is a fun alternative!
I wasn’t sure how the swirl was going to turn out this time, as I felt I didn’t save enough of the chocolate part when I was dividing up the batter. But it turned out just fine! Best tip is to divide the batter evenly using a measuring cup…if you just eyeball it, they will end up in uneven proportions.
How do you make pumpkin swirl brownies?
The first thing to is to gather all your ingredients.
Second, begin to make your main batter. The first step is to melt chocolate and butter (or margarine)together.
Third, whisk the dry ingredients together.
Fourth, beat the sugar, eggs and vanilla together (you could do this all by hand or in the bowl of your mixer).
And here is the main batter that gets divided into chocolate and pumpkin. This batter gets divided into two bowls (2 cups each).
Fifth, add the melted chocolate to one bowl of batter.
In the other bowl of batter, stir in the pumpkin, oil and spices.
And here is the pumpkin batter.
Here are the two batters that you will swirl together.
Final step is to layer the two batters in the prepped pan and swirl them together.
some notes on this recipe:
I wasn’t sure how the swirl was going to turn out this time, as I felt I didn’t save enough of the chocolate part when I was dividing up the batter. But it turned out just fine! If you want to be sure you are dividing it evenly, measure with your measuring cup when dividing into two bowls.
These brownies have a touch of cayenne. My kids don’t even notice it. You could omit the spice if you’d like. If it is for adults, you could add a touch more to intensify the flavor a little. These are a wonderful idea to make during the holidays. They are so easy to put together and they are a hit with everyone!
Need more pumpkin ideas? Check out these delicious recipes:
Originally published October 2015 and updated for text and photos on October 2021.
Pumpkin Swirl Brownies
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons 1 stick unsalted butter, plus more for pan, use margarine if dairy-free
- 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper optional (omit if baking for kids; add a little more if you like a spicy kick)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups sugar original recipe calls for 1 3/4. 1 1/2 was perfect for us
- 4 large eggs
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups solid-pack pumpkin
- ¼ cup coconut oil or a mild flavored oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan or dish. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper; butter lining (or spray with baking spray).
- Melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, cayenne, and salt in a large bowl; set aside. Put sugar, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat until fluffy and well combined, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in flour mixture.
- Divide batter between two medium bowls (about 2 cups per bowl). Stir chocolate mixture into one bowl that has the batter. In the other bowl with 1/2 the batter, stir in pumpkin, oil, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Transfer half of chocolate batter to prepared pan smoothing top with a rubber spatula. Top with half of pumpkin batter. Repeat to make one more chocolate layer and one more pumpkin layer. Work quickly so batters don’t set.
- With a small spatula or a table knife, gently swirl the two batters to create a marbled effect.
- Bake until set, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into 16 squares.
Julianne says
These sound delicious. Definitely need to they these. Great post! xo