Well, I wasn’t initially planning on doing a Pumpkin Month theme, but it’s certainly shaping up that way, isn’t it? This time around, I was looking for something a little different than my previous pumpkin-themed treats, like the pumpkin cake or the pumpkin bread. I wanted to do more than just add chocolate chips or something, so when I discovered the pumpkin brownie combo, I thought, why not?
I’ve made brookies (cookie brownies) before, and making these is pretty much the same deal, except where cookie dough bakes hard, pumpkin cake bakes soft. As a result, these end up a lot more like cupcakes or muffins than cookie/brownies.
They’re sweet, rich, moist, and with a bit of crunch from chopped and toasted pecans, they’re great all-around autumn snacks. I wouldn’t make them all the time — pumpkin can get a little one-note after a while — but they’re definitely a good treat to have.
I do have a couple of tips to make these work, for those of you making them at home.
First, use a toothpick to swirl the two batters together before you bake. You don’t want to mix them completely, but a little swirling will give them a cool pattern and help the two parts stick together better. Without it, when you try to remove them, they can just fall apart.
Second, make sure you do a good job greasing your muffin tins, or use muffin cups. I’ve had some issues in the past with poorly-greased muffin tins making these fall apart trying to remove them.
Third, make sure not to under-bake them. The time I’ve listed is a good starting point, but you may need an extra couple of minutes, depending. Using the “toothpick comes out clean” method is a good indicator that you’re just about there.
That’s pretty much it! It’s not a super-intense recipe to make, it’s just normal baking, so give it a go and enjoy!
Pumpkin Brownie Muffins
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- Muffin Tins
- Rubber Spatula
Ingredients
- 3 Eggs
- ¾ Cup Flour
- ¾ Cup Butter Melted
- ¾ Cup White Sugar
- ¾ Cup Brown Sugar
- ½ Cup Chopped Pecans Toasted; Walnuts also work.
- ½ Cup Pumpkin Puree
- ½ Cup Mini Chocolate Chips
- ¼ Cup Cocoa Powder
- 2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 Tsp Cinnamon
- 1 Tsp Espresso Powder
- ½ Tsp Baking Powder
- ½ Tsp Ground Cloves
- ½ Tsp Ground Nutmeg
- ¼ Tsp Salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. If not using muffin cups, grease your muffin tin; otherwise, distribute cups.
- In a mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a second bowl, mix together the sugars, melted butter, and vanilla extract.
- Add one egg at a time to the sugar mix, stirring to make sure it's fully incorporated before adding the next.
- Add about ⅓ of the flour mixture to the sugar mix and stir until just combined. Repeat with the second third, then the third.
- Divide the batter in half between the bowls.
- In one bowl, stir in the chocolate chips, cocoa powder, and espresso powder. Reserve some chocolate chips to top.
- In the other bowl, stir in the pumpkin puree, pecans, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Reserve some pecans to top.
- Spoon alternating spoonfuls of batter into the muffin cups. Use a toothpick to lightly swirl the two together. Top each filled cup with a few chocolate chips and pecans.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until slightly after a toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let cool at least 10 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
- Enjoy!