Easy Pumpkin Brownie Recipe

A square pumpkin brownie-cookie swirl bar with layers of golden cookie dough and dark chocolate brownie.

5 from 5 vote

Easy Pumpkin Brownie Recipe

These delicious Pumpkin Swirl Brownies are perfectly swirled with rich chocolate, creamy pumpkin, and warm spices. It is the ultimate Fall dessert!

Prep Time8

Cook Time40

Total Time48

Servings: people

Calories: 3659kcal

Author: Lora

Equipment

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 ¾. 1 ½ 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 ½ 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.

Notes

Six-step collage for making pumpkin brownies: 1) Chocolate chips and butter melting in a pot. 2) Mixed dry ingredients in a bowl. 3) Eggs and sugar in a bowl. 4) Wet mixture blended smooth. 5) Pumpkin puree and batter ready. 6) Brownie batter fully mixed.

Two images: The first shows a bowl of pumpkin brownie batter with a red spatula on a marble surface. The second displays two bowls, one with pumpkin brownie batter and the other with dark chocolate brownie batter, each with spatulas.

Four-step collage showing the process of making Pumpkin Brownies: plain batter in a pan (9), dark batter added and swirled (10), swirled batter before baking (11), and baked bars with pumpkin swirls, some cut (12).

*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.

Nutrition