Chocolate Chip Brownies with PB & Pumpkin Topping

by annecalista

Pumpkin and Chocolate. It seems as though everyone has an opinion on the topic.  Some people don’t want chocolate chips in their pumpkin muffins.  Others don’t want to eat a slice of pumpkin pie with a chocolate graham cracker crust.  Me, I say yes to this combo ninety-nine percent of the time.

It’s been awhile since I made brownies.  I had a minor brownie obsession in college that I’ve been recovering from over the past few years.  I still love ’em, but I don’t feel like I have to eat them every time they are within arm’s reach.

This recipe is tweaked from a classic Betty Crocker one that I found in my Better Crocker Picture Cookbook. I’m finding myself going back to this cookbook (it’s from the early 60’s I believe) more and more because I just love old-fashioned recipes.  I think they had it figured out back then, eating real food in moderate portions.  So here’s my version, which began with melting down some unsweetened chocolate squares.  This works best in a double boiler (which is a fancy name for a pot on top of a pot, and the one on the bottom has simmering or boiling water in it).  I don’t have a real double boiler, but I do have a bowl that fits perfectly on one of my sauce pans.  There you go!

Chocolate Chip Brownies with PB and Pumpkin Topping

Adapted from The Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook

Makes 16 servings

Prep time: 15 minutes/ Baking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate

1/3 cup canola oil

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Topping:

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

2 Tablespoons peanut butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 Tablespoons canola oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.

Melt chocolate in a double-boiler.  Watch closely and remove from heat immediately once the chocolate is melted.  It can burn quickly!

Stir in oil, then the sugar and eggs together.

Add dry ingredients and mix well.

Fold in the chocolate chips.

Transfer to an 8″ round cake pan or an 8X8 baking dish.  Set aside

Combine pumpkin, peanut butter, oil and vanilla in a small bowl.

Spread topping over brownie batter.  It doesn’t have to be pretty, it will taste good no matter what.

Bake for 30 minutes, allow to cool, dig in and enjoy!

Honestly I was worried about this tasting good.

It was perfect. If you like chocolate and pumpkin together.  And are willing to let some peanut butter join the troupe.

The brownie is the kind I dream about.  Gooey in all the right spots, a serious level of chocolate flavor and the perfect crispy and chewy outer edge.  Those chocolate chips don’t hurt, either, since they create little explosions of melted chocolate throughout the brownie.

You could totally skip the labor-intensive pie baking this year and just bring a batch of these to the Thanksgiving table.   It’s the same shape, no one will know the difference.  Right?

Happy Chocolate-Pumpkin season to you!

–Anne Calista