These rich, soft, and moist pumpkin brownies will make a perfect treat for the fall season. Luscious dark chocolate pumpkin brownies are topped with smooth, creamy pumpkin cream cheese frosting.
Pumpkin Brownies
It’s officially September!
In my mind, that is THE official start of fall season. (Much like the day after Thanksgiving is beginning on Christmas season in my house.) I don’t care to wait all the way to September 22nd, I switch my summer door wreath to my pumpkin fall wreath on September 1st.
After I switch my floral wreath to a pumpkin wreath, I have to bake something pumpkin flavored and delicious.
This year, I made some luscious Frosted Pumpkin Brownies. These brownies are awesome. They are soft, moist, and chocolate-rich. I love that pumpkin makes the brownie texture soft and moist, almost spongy. You can even under-cook them by a few minutes to make brownies gooier.
TIPS FOR PUMPKIN BROWNIES:
If you don’t like dark chocolate, you can use milk chocolate chips for making these brownies.
You can dress up these brownies for a special occasion. For Halloween, you can sprinkle orange, black, and purple sprinkles over the top or decorate it with candy monsters.
Another Halloween decoration idea is to make a graveyard.
To make a graveyard, pulse Oreo cookies in a blender until it’s just crumbs and spread them over the top of the frosting. Use Milano cookies as grave stones and stick them into the frosting. Use black icing to write something on graves.
Decorating the top of the brownies will be a fun Halloween party idea.
If you’re having a fall themed party, you can decorate these pumpkin brownies with little sugar pumpkins on top.
For Thanksgiving, use candy corn, Oreo cookies, and candy eyes to make little turkeys to decorate tops of brownies.
WHAT IS PUMPKIN PIE SPICE?
I’ve gotten this question a few times so I wanted to mention is here as well.
Pumpkin spice mix is essentially a combination of spices commonly used in a classic pumpkin pie.
It’s a mix of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves.
I use pumpkin pie spice mix for the ease of it so that I don’t have to mix the spices every time I bake. You can buy it at the store or you can make your own. I like to use equal parts of ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves but a little more cinnamon.
Yes, cloves can be quite overwhelming but I like it. I use equal part of cloves as other 3 spices but you can use half the amount if you don’t enjoy cloves as much as I do.
MORE DESSERT RECIPES YOU WILL LIKE:
Brioche Pumpkin Pie Bread Pudding – Pumpkin pie and bread pudding came together here to create one luscious dessert. To take this comforting dessert to the next level, it’s topped with an easy Butter Rum Sauce and ice cream.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie – a combination of a classic pumpkin pie with silky creaminess of a cheesecake. This easy dessert is perfect to serve at holiday dinners or just because you feel like having a pumpkin treat.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Doughnuts – Easy stuffed pumpkin doughnuts filled with pumpkin cheesecake mixture and topped with pumpkin spice icing and crispy gingersnap cookies.
Triple Chocolate Bread – Spent With Pennies
Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Cake – Life, Love and Sugar
Pumpkin Cookie Butter Truffles – Handle the Heat
White Chocolate Pumpkin Cookies – Life In A Lofthouse
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Frosted Pumpkin Brownies
Ingredients
Brownies:
- 12 oz unsalted butter
- 2 oz dark chocolate chips
- 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp pumpkin spice extract
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
Frosting:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
Brownies:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13 baking dish.
- In a small saucepan, over medium heat, melt butter, and then add chocolate chips, vanilla, and brown sugar. Keep stirring with a silicone-covered whisk until melted and smooth. Take off heat.
- Transfer the mixture into a large mixing bowl. Whisk slowly and let it cool for a couple of minutes.
- Whisk in buttermilk until combined.
- Whisk in eggs until combined and smooth.
- Whisk in pumpkin puree until smooth.
- Sift in flour, cocoa powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until all smooth and all incorporated.
- Pour mixture into the 9x13 baking dish, spreading evenly. Gently tap on the counter a couple of times to make sure it's spread evenly. Bake for 40-42 minutes.*Tip: bake brownies for about 5 less minutes if you want them gooey.
Frosting:
- Make sure that brownies are completely cooled before adding frosting or you will melt the frosting.
- Beat butter in a bowl of an electric mixer, on medium-high speed, for about a minute, until light and fluffy. Add cream cheese, and beat on medium-high speed, until smooth, 1–2 minutes.
- Scrape bottom and sides of the bowl, and add pumpkin puree. Beat for a couple more minutes.
- Lower speed to low and beat in powdered sugar and pumpkin pie spice.
- Turn up the speed back to medium-high and beat 3–4 minutes, until the frosting is light, smooth, and fluffy.
- Refrigerate 15–20 minutes before spreading over brownies.
- Spread frosting all over cooled brownies.
- Store brownies in the refrigerator because of the cream cheese frosting.
Notes
Nutrition
Shelly says
Hi Lyuba,, These pumpkin brownies look so good I can’t wait try them. I do have 2 questions though, first what is pumpkin spice extract? Second in the instructions for making the brownies on line six you state to add the pumpkin puree to the mix, however there is no mention of puree in the brownie ingredients. How much pumpkin puree should be used? Pumpkin is one of my favorite holiday flavors
Thank you for all your wonderful recipes.
Shelly
lyuba says
Oh my goodness, Shelly, thank you for letting me know! I missed that completely. It’s 1 cup of pumpkin puree that goes into the brownie batter. Pumpkin spice extract is just like vanilla extract, it’s a liquid extract for baking. You usually find it in the same area as vanilla and almond extracts. If you can’t find it, you can add more flavor by adding some more dry pumpkin pie spice mix.
I really hope you like the brownies!
Stacey Sullivan says
Cannot wait to try this on Thanksgiving day. Only one question in the brownie instruction #7 you meantioned cinnoman and nutmeg but i don’t see it in the list of ingredient and how much.
lyuba says
Thank you so much for catching it, Stacey!! It was actually supposed to read pumpkin pie spice 🙂 I will fix that asap
Jenny says
2oz of chocolate chips? Is this correct? Or should it be 12 oz?
lyuba says
Hi Jenny! It’s 2 oz because there is 1/2 cup of cocoa powder in the batter as well. These brownies are quite rich, don’t worry 🙂
Victoria says
Love these pumpkin brownies. Great recipe for Thanksgiving dessert.
lyuba says
Definitely! With a cup of cocoa, it will be perfect 🙂
Thank you!!
Mandy @ South Your Mouth says
These look sinfully amazing! I can’t wait to try them!
lyuba says
I hope you will soon! Thank you, Mandy!
Valerie | Valerie's Kitchen says
So rich and decadent and LOVE this flavor combo!
Dolores says
Seems like a lot of butter. Can applesauce be substituted for some of the butter? If so, what would be suggested?