Pumpkin Pie Brownies

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These festive Pumpkin Pie Brownies pack fall flavor into every bite!  They’re filled with a spiced pumpkin pie layer sandwiched between rich and chocolatey homemade brownie batter.  They’re surprisingly easy to bake, and excellent for feeding a crowd at any autumn gathering.

Enjoy them either soft at room temperature as a brownie-pie blend, or fudgy and chilled out of the refrigerator as a creamy, cheesecake-like bar!

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RECIPE NOTES:

Baking Dish: You’ll want to use a 9 x 13 glass baking dish for these brownies!  (Remember that different baking pans conduct heat differently, so for any variations there may be temperature/timing conversions required!)

Parchment Paper: Line the baking dish with parchment paper to prevent the brownies from sticking.

Layering: When it comes to layering the brownie batter and pumpkin filling in the baking dish, feel free to eyeball half of the batter (that’s what I did!), but know that if you’d like your layers to be perfectly even, you could always use a scale to divide up the batter!

Bake Time: I have found that approximately 53-55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean, works perfectly for these thick brownies.  The top layer will look set.  Test a toothpick in a few different places just in case you hit a melty chocolate chip!  If you see brownie batter, they need more time, but a few moist crumbs are okay and expected!  Every oven is different, so do keep an eye on them.

Cooling: You’ll want to let these brownies fully cool in the pan before cutting into them.

Serving: These brownies can either be enjoyed either at room temperature or chilled out of the refrigerator.  At room temperature, they’ll be super soft and melt in your mouth.  When chilled, they have a fudgy, creamy, cheesecake-like quality!  They’re very different, but both delicious!

Storage: Once fully cool, the brownies can last (covered) at room temperature for approximately 12 hours.  This is the perfect time to enjoy/serve them fresh and soft!  After this window, for food safety, they should be sliced and moved into either the refrigerator or freezer for longer-term storage.  For leftovers, slices can be enjoyed chilled from the fridge, or brought to room temperature on the counter once ready to eat!

INGREDIENT NOTES:

FOR THE BROWNIE LAYERS

All-Purpose Flour: All-purpose flour is the perfect neutral flour choice for these brownies.  I love using an unbleached variety!  (Measuring Tip:  I always measure my flour by scooping it into the measuring cup with a spoon, to keep it from getting overly packed, then leveling it out on top with the spoon at the end!)

Dutch-process Cocoa Powder: Dutch-process cocoa is what gives the brownie layers their deep cocoa flavor and dark color!  I used this one.  (I have not tested this batter with natural, lighter cocoa, so therefore would not recommend it!)

Salt: Salt is important for both the flavor as well as helping the brownie batter to develop properly.  I use finely ground sea salt.

Unsalted Butter: Butter makes the brownies super rich and soft!

Cane Sugar: This is my preferred/tested type of granulated sugar to use.

Dark Brown Sugar: Dark brown sugar provides moisture and depth of flavor.

Strong Coffee: When I make plain brownies on their own, I typically use some vanilla extract here instead…But for these brownies, I felt that coffee would be a more compatible flavor-enhancer.  It was definitely the right call!  I used decaf cold brew.

Eggs: Remember to let your eggs come to room temperature before baking!  This way they won’t alter the batter temperature or consistency.

Dark Chocolate Chips: Including chocolate chips in the brownies is a must to ensure they’re perfectly fudgy, chocolatey, and sweet!  If you can’t find (or don’t love) dark chocolate chips, I imagine semi-sweet would work fine as a similar substitute.

FOR THE PUMPKIN PIE FILLING

Block Cream Cheese: Be sure to use a “block”/”brick” of cream cheese, not the spreadable type!  Most varieties come in 8 oz blocks, which means 1.5 blocks are needed.  I used a kitchen scale for oz accuracy!

Pumpkin Puree: You’ll want to use a plain, 1-ingredient, pumpkin puree.  You do not want “pumpkin pie mix” (which would be far too sweet and flavored)!

Cane Sugar: This adds just the right amount of sweetness to the filling while still letting the pumpkin flavor pop!

Ground Saigon Cinnamon: Cinnamon is a must to flavor anything pumpkin, and I highly recommend using Saigon Cinnamon because it packs so much more of a flavor punch than traditional cinnamon!

Ground Cloves, Allspice, Nutmeg, & Ginger: These fall spices are a powerfully flavorful combo that gives the filling SO much warming depth!

Kitchen Equipment:

• 9 x 13 Glass Baking Dish

• Parchment Paper

• 2 Large Bowls

• Kitchen Scale

• 1 Medium Bowl

• Hand Mixer

• Toothpicks

• Cooling Rack

Servings: 24 Brownies

Ingredients:

FOR THE BROWNIE LAYERS

• 1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
• 1 Cup Dutch-process Cocoa Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Salt, I used finely ground sea salt
• 1 Cup Unsalted Butter, melted
• 1 Cup Cane Sugar
• 1 Cup Dark Brown Sugar, packed
• 3 Teaspoons Strong Coffee, I used decaf cold brew, room temperature
• 4 Eggs, room temperature
• 1 Cup Dark Chocolate Chips

FOR THE PUMPKIN PIE FILLING

• 12 oz Block Cream Cheese, room temperature
• 15 oz Can Pumpkin Puree
• 1/2 Cup Cane Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Ground Saigon Cinnamon
• 1 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
• 1 Teaspoon Ground Allspice
• 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
• 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger

Directions:

PREP

Let the butter, eggs, and cream cheese come to room temperature

Line the glass baking dish with parchment paper and set it aside

COMBINE THE BROWNIE INGREDIENTS

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, and salt until combined, and set aside

In a second large bowl, melt the butter in the microwave

After a minute or two, add the cane sugar and brown sugar to the melted butter and stir together until combined

Next, stir in the coffee

Then, gently stir in the eggs until smooth and combined

Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, approximately half at a time, gently stirring them together until all the clumps are gone (Try your best not to overmix!)

Stir in the 1 Cup of chocolate chips, and set aside

COMBINE THE FILLING INGREDIENTS

In a medium bowl, with a hand mixer on low, roughly beat together the cream cheese and pumpkin puree

Next, beat in the sugar until the consistency is smooth

Then, beat in the spices (feel free to lightly stir them in first to avoid a mess!)

LAYER & BAKE

Preheat the oven to 350º

Add half of the brownie batter evenly into the lined pan reaching the edges

Next, evenly spread the filling layer (scattering large dollops throughout, then gently smoothing them together)

Finally, top off with the rest of the brownie batter, spreading it evenly until all of the pumpkin layer is covered

Bake for approximately 53-55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean (a few moist crumbs are okay!)

Place the baking dish on a cooling rack, and let the brownies fully cool in the dish

SERVE & STORE

Serve soft at room temperature anytime in the initial 12 hours after the brownies have fully cooled!

After this window, slice the brownies and store them either in the fridge or freezer

When ready to serve leftovers, remove from the fridge, either for just a few minutes to enjoy chilled, or until the slice has reached room temperature to enjoy soft

[See Recipe Notes above for additional info!]