Marble Pumpkin Brownies

Brownies are a weakness of mine for sure. And a good marbled brownie recipe, especially one that involves pumpkin, is a good thing to have in your recipe rolodex.

I don't actually have a recipe rolodex, but man, now that I'm thinking in that direction, it sounds totally charming but probably a bit impractical. Of course just scrolling through saved recipes on your phone or iPad makes a lot more sense...but flipping through an alphabetical rolodex looking for your favorite brownie recipe just sounds adorable to me. I digress.

Not all brownies are created equal, of course. Some of are more cake-y while others can have a consistency almost resembling fudge. These are somewhere in the middle. I don't like to feel as if I'm eating raw batter, but I do like my brownies slightly undercooked in the center. Oxymoronic? Maybe. But I really like brownies that are just as good the day after you bake them, and to me walking the line between not baked enough and over-baked is how you get that. You could even under bake these by a couple more minutes than I suggest and once cooled, cut and freeze them. Options. I'm all about it.

Marbled Pumpkin Brownies, makes 9 servings. (one 8x8 inch square baking pan)

For the brownie batter:
1/2 cup butter
4.5 oz dark chocolate
1 cup sugar
2 eggs 1 egg white
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup flour (all purpose)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the pumpkin top:
3 tablespoons pumpkin puree
1 egg 1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 tsp or a big pinch of cinnamon

Melt the butter and chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave in 30 second increments until just melted.

In another bowl, stir together the sugar, eggs and vanilla extract (only the amounts listed under brownie batter above). Once the chocolate/butter has cooled some, stir the chocolate mixture in with the egg/sugar mixture. You don't want the chocolate mixture to be too hot here because eggs have a tendency to very quickly respond to heat. So if the chocolate mixture is piping hot, it could cook your eggs and create a funky texture in your brownie batter, which you don't want. Then stir in the flour, baking powder and salt.

In a small bowl, stir together the pumpkin batter ingredients listed above.

Pour 3/4 of the brownie batter into a square baking pan that has been lined with parchment paper. Spoon the pumpkin batter over the top of this. Then add the remaining brownie batter and swirl with a butter knife.

Bake at 350°F for 28-30 minutes. A toothpick inserted anywhere other than the center should come out clean, while the batter may still be just a little undercooked in the center. Again, this is just my preference.

Allow to cool before removing from the pan and slicing into squares. This is another one of those recipes that only uses a small amount of pumpkin puree (much like these cookies), so feel free to save the rest and use it that week in oatmeal or other baked goods. Enjoy! xo. Emma

Credits // Author and Photography: Emma Chapman. Photos edited with A Beautiful Mess actions.