Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

  • 16
  • 75 mins

Ingredients

  • 8 Tbsp butter
  • 8 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
  • 1 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup + 2 Tbsp flour
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder (Special Dark and dutch-process make a darker brownie but unsweetened/natural works fine)
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 4 oz reduced-fat cream cheese, at room temp
  • 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/8 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/8 tsp ground all spice
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8-inch pan with baking spray. In a large microwave safe bowl, melt butter and chocolate together, stirring between 30-second cooking intervals. Whisk until completely smooth. Whisk in 1 cup sugar and then add 3 of the eggs, one at a time, whisking between each addition. Whisk in the dry ingredients: 1 cup flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Transfer batter to the greased pan and spread the batter evenly. In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese and 2 Tbsp sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the canned pumpkin and beat until thoroughly combined. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Add the 2 Tbsp flour and ground spices (alternately, you can use 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice in place of the 5 ground spices). Using a spoon or rubber spatula, create wells in the top of the brownie batter. Spoon the pumpkin cheesecake mixture into the wells. Use the tip of a knife to swirl the chocolate and pumpkin together. (The two batters have different consistency so use a swirl-and-fold motion to bring the chocolate swirl to the top.) Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 40-50 minutes. Cool in pan for 30 minutes before cutting into 16 squares and serving. Leftovers will keep in a covered cake plate for 3-4 days. They can also be wrapped and frozen.