Chocolate Pumpkin Cream Cheese Brownies

In my house, we have big debates over the proper consistency of a brownie. Bear feels passionately that they should be dense and chewy. I love a fluffy cake like brownie. The one thing we can come together on is that whatever texture the brownie takes, it is ruined when plagued by nuts.

This brownie is my style of a brownie, one that needs to be eaten with a fork and comes smothered in gooey chocolate cream cheese icing. Ever since I ate that pumpkin bark, I knew I needed to turn it into brownie form. This version also brings in what is, in my opinion, a brownie’s best friend. Cream cheese.

Chocolate Pumpkin Cream Cheese Brownies

Brownie Layer:
1 C water
1 C butter
5 T cocoa
2 squares unsweeted baking chocolate
4 eggs
2 C sugar
1/2 C milk
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
3 C flour

Pumpkin Layer:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 C sugar
2 eggs
1 C pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Icing:
4 oz cream cheese
1/4 C butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 C powdered sugar
3 T cocoa
2 T milk

Dump the butter, cocoa, chocolate, and water into a pot and melt together. Allow to cool slightly, then add to the rest of the ingredients for the brownie layer. Spread into a greased and floured 10 x 12 baking dish.

Mix the pumpkin layer ingredients together and spread over the top of the brownie layer. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. The pumpkin layer should be firm. Mix the icing together and spread over the brownies when cool.

Chocolate and pumpkin are a match made in heaven. Gooey icing and cream cheese on top of that, and these brownies might just send me there myself.