Harvest Season Favorites

I love fall baking. There are so many things you can make with pumpkin! I’m going to share 2 of my favorites today. I recently made both of these desserts for my Life Group Bible Study. They were huge hits.

Chocolate Pumpkin Pie Brownies (www.chocolatecoveredkatie.com )

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

½ cup flour (whole wheat, white, spelt or even oat!)

¼ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp plus 1/16 tsp salt

2/3 c sugar (or xylitol, or ½ c maple syrup or agave, but it’ll be gummier with liquid sweetener)

1 packet NuNaturals stevia (or 1 more Tbsp agave/sugar)

½ cup canned pumpkin (or pureed pumpkin or sweet potato)

3 Tbsp oil (you can omit but be warned: the brownies will be gummy)

2 Tbsp non-dairy milk

1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract

½ c chocolate chips

Combine dry ingredients, and mix very well. Combine wet ingredients, then mix into dry. Pour into a greased pan (it will fill up half an 8x8) Cook for about 23 minutes at 330 F. I’m not sure why this is the case, but these brownies seem to taste ten times sweeter if you don’t eat them for at least an hour after they come out of the oven. Notes: First off, I doubled the recipe so I could use a 9x13 pan. I used a mix of white and wheat flour. I used regular sugar and fresh pureed pumpkin. I have always used oil (this time it was coconut oil). I have used almond milk prior, but this time I only had skim on hand and it worked fine.

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Lightened up Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Bars (www.cookiesandcups.com )

1 (8oz) block 1/3 less fat cream cheese

¾ cup powdered sugar

1 Tbsp water

1 (16 oz) Angel Food Cake Mix

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin

¾ cup water

½ tsp pumpkin pie spice

½ tsp cinnamon

Preheat over to 375 degrees. Spray a 9x13 pan with nonstick spray. In your stand mixer combine cream cheese, powdered sugar and 1 Tbsp water mixing on Medium high for 1-2 minutes until smooth and creamy. Set aside. In a large bowl combine box of dry cake mix, pumpkin, ¾ c water, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Stir until smooth and combined. Spread pumpkin mixture into your prepared pan. Drizzle your cream cheese on top of the pumpkin mixture and swirl it in with a butter knife. Bake for 25-30 minutes until center is set and toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely and cut into squares. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Refrigerate if desired. Notes: I don’t have a stand mixer, so it was hard work for my handheld mixer. I did microwave the cream cheese just a few seconds to make it easier.