Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownie Goodness

A friend of mine recently hosted a fall dessert party. What an awesome idea, and a great day for a bunch of women to get overloaded on sugar and catch up together! I am getting so excited for fall- this is one of my favorite times of year. Looking through Pinterest did not help narrow down my search. If you look for "fall dessert" it pulls up so many decadent things! After looking through the recipes- I finally narrowed down to two things. Why is it that baking a complicated recipe doesn't phase me, but cooking a simple chicken casserole makes me think I'm going to burn our house down?!

One of the recipes I found combines two three of my favorite things...pumpkin, cheesecake and brownie. At first I was really nervous...chocolate and pumpkin? That can't taste good. But lo and behold, and though extremely rich- they turned out SO good. Here's the recipe. I don't suggest these for the "dieter" and/or people who do not enjoy sugar.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownie Bites

This is for an 8x8 pan.

*The Brownie Batter*

3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon

*The Cheesecake Batter*

  8oz cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp & 2 tsp flour
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 tsp pure vanilla extract
2/3 tsp cinnamon
1/3 tsp each ground ginger and ground cloves

Brownies before the oven

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8x8" square metal baking pan.

2. Beat together melted butter, sugar, and vanilla, then beat in eggs one at a time. Combine dry ingredients and then gradually stir into butter mixture with a wooden spoon. In separate bowl, beat together cheesecake batter ingredients.

3. Spread about 2/3 of chocolate batter into prepared pan, and spoon cheesecake batter over. Dollop remaining brownie batter over cheesecake batter. Swirl the batters together by running a butter knife back and forth through the pan.


4. Bake for 40 minutes, or until center is set. Cool completely on wire rack and chill before cutting and serving.
(recipe from beantownbaker.com)



As you can see, they are super good, but really bad for you. If you're looking for a lighter fall recipe...I'd try a pumpkin roll. It's easy to make and lighter on the stomach.

Powdered Sugar Pumpkin Roll

When I say jelly roll pan, you can use a cookie sheet! It's always cute at the end to wrap the roll in raffia and place on a fall platter- adds an extra touch to the dessert.

*Cake*
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 eggs
2/3 cup mashed (canned) pumpkin
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

*Filling*

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 15 X 10-inch jelly roll pan. Cut wax paper to fit the bottom of the pan and leave an inch overhang on each of the short ends of the pan. Lightly grease the wax paper and sides of the jelly roll pan.

2. Mix the sugar, flour, salt, soda, cinnamon, eggs and pumpkin in a large bowl. Once mixed, pour mixture over the waxed paper. Sprinkle the walnuts, if using, on top of the mixture. Bake for 14-15 minutes until edges pull away from the sides of the pan and center is done.

3.Lay a large dishtowel on the counter top (it is best to use a dishtowel without any texture – a tea towel or similar towel works best). Spread a thick dusting of powdered sugar all over the towel. When the cake comes out of the oven, turn the pan upside down on the powdered sugar-laden towel so the wax paper is on the top. Gently peel off the wax paper, being careful not to tear the roll. Starting at one of the short ends, roll the pumpkin cake up with the towel to cool. 

4. While the roll is cooling, mix the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar together until it is light and creamy. Once the roll is cool, unroll and with an offset spatula, carefully spread filling in an even layer over the cake. Roll it up without the towel and place in the refrigerator (covered with plastic wrap or wax paper) for about an hour before serving.

There are so many more recipes I want to try! I will keep updating throughout the fall season! I hope I can still reach my weight loss goals but at the same time try everything! :)