Halloween Brownies
Halloween is pumpkin season and carved Jack O’Lanterns decorate many porches. Pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie and pumpkin cookies are also seasonal treats and we often reach for canned pumpkin while making these recipes. Why not try making your own pumpkin purée? The taste of homemade pumpkin purée is much more delicious than canned and it’s so easy to make. Think of the difference between farm fresh green beans or canned green beans... quite a difference!
To make your own pumpkin purée, buy two 2-pound sugar pumpkins. Cut off the stem and slice the pumpkin in half (either lengthwise or across the equator). Scoop out all the seeds and stringy flesh. Using an ice cream scoop or grapefruit spoon makes the process very easy. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Rub some vegetable oil on the cut sides and inside of the pumpkins and place the halves cut-side-down on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes or until you can easily poke a fork through the peel and flesh. Let the pumpkins cool. It’s easy to remove the peels from the pumpkins when they’ve been roasted. Purée the flesh in a food processor until smooth. The two sugar pumpkins should yield about 4 to 4 1/2 cups of pumpkin purée which can be frozen for later use.
I couldn’t wait to try the freshly roasted pumpkin, so I decided to use a little of my pumpkin purée to add some orange swirls to brownies for a colorful Halloween-y treat! I “cheated” by using a box of Duncan Hines Brownie Mix as the base but made a small batch of pumpkin cheesecake batter for the topping.
HALLOWEEN BROWNIES
1 box of Duncan Hines Family Size Brownie Mix
3 large eggs
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup freshly roasted pumpkin purée
4 ounces cream cheese
1 large egg
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (optional)
Baking spray
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13”x9” pan with parchment paper and coat with baking spray. The parchment paper will make the brownies a lot easier to remove from the pan without cracking.
Prepare the brownie mix as directed on the box: in a large bowl, combine the brownie mix, 3 eggs, water and vegetable oil. Mix until smooth. Set aside 1/2 cup of the brownie mixture.
In a small bowl, blend together the pumpkin purée, cream cheese, 1 egg, sugar and spice (if using).
Pour the brownie mix into the prepared pan. Top with the pumpkin mixture, then spoon the additional 1/2 cup of brownie batter on top.
Marbleize the top by swirling a butter knife lightly through the top of the batter.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until the brownies are set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the brownies cool completely before removing from the pan and slicing.