Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Brownies

Pumpkin Brownies. No, I mean: Pumpkin Brownies!! When I told a few friends I was trying my hand at combining chocolate and pumpkin this way I was met with a surprising "What?!" What is rarely surprising is me talking about food, let alone a baked dessert; what seemed to be surprising (this time) was me wanting to use pumpkin when making it. Who says pumpkin is only acceptable in bread, cheesecake, or pie? Yeah, I got nothing. Supported by my fervent pumpkin flavor-seekers I baked these Pumpkin Brownies, or a "Wow. I can actually taste the pumpkin!" dessert bar. Enjoy!!

Ingredients

Servings: 16 brownies

Prep Time: 25min

3/4 Cup Pumpkin, puree

2 Eggs

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Tsp Cinnamon, ground

1/2 Tsp Cloves, ground

1 1/4 Cup Sugar, Granulated

1/4 Tsp Salt

1 1/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour

1 Tsp Baking Powder

1/3 Cup Butter, unsalted

3 Squares Baking Chocolate, unsweetened (~1 1/2oz)

1/2 Cup Mini-Chocolate Chips, semi-sweet

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix together the pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, sugar, and salt. In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate and butter on low heat, while stirring. When fully melted, set aside to cool slightly before folding into the pumpkin mixture. Whisk in the baking powder and stir in the flour, 1/4 cup at a time until evenly distributed. Fold in the mini-chocolate chips (be sure batter is cool before, otherwise chocolate chips WILL melt). Pour batter into a greased and floured 8" square baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until inserted knife comes out clean. Set aside to cool before dividing into 16 squares.