Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

Really, why bother with turkey?

This was photographed while still warm, which is why it looks so gooey. Once refrigerated they’ll look perfect. Note: The lusty melted chocolate chip. That’s a good kind of gooey.

It’s a truth rarely uttered: Thanksgiving menus rarely feature enough chocolate.

These brownies help take care of that issue. And like all good Thanksgiving foods, they make delicious leftovers.

Let’s get on with the recipe.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

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Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

Makes one 13 x 9-inch pan, greased and lined with a aluminum foil sling, to make lifting the bars out easily.

First you make the brownie batter, then the pumpkin cheesecake batter, so that’s how I’ve broken up the recipe.

Easy Chocolate Brownies:

What You’ll Need:

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

6 ounces butter, cut into pieces

2 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

Poss add-ins: chocolate chips, pecans, walnuts

What You’ll Do:

1. In a large heat-proof bowl, melt the chocolate and butter together. I use a microwave, giving it short blasts of 20 seconds, stir, blast, stir, until almost melted. Then stir until completely melted. Alternatively, place the bowl over simmering water. Do not let the water touch the bottom of the bowl.

2. Slowly whisk in the sugar. I do this all by hand. I’m convinced it burns calories. When all the sugar is whisked in, the mixture will look grainy and wet.

3. Whisk the eggs in one at a time, whisking 20 seconds after each addition. The batter will look smooth by the time you’ve finished adding the last egg. Whisk in the vanilla extract.

4. Fold the flour into the batter in three additions. Add chocolate chips or, if you’re one of those people—and yes, I do kind of judge you—add the nuts.

5. Pour two-thirds of the batter into the pan and smooth. Reserve the 1/3 remaining until later.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

What You’ll Need:

16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar minus 2 tablespoons

2 large eggs

10 ounces canned pumpkin (not a full can, sorry)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon (generous) cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon (generous) ground ginger

What You’ll Do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1. Using a hand or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese for 1 minutes until light. Scrape down the sides. Just remember to keep scraping down the sides throughout the process. That way I don’t have to keep telling you. OK?

2. Slowly add the sugar, with the beater running on medium-low. Scrape down the sides. Oh, oops, I promised not to say that again.

3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 20 seconds after each addition.

4. Add the pumpkin, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger and blend on medium-low until well-mixed. (Um, scraping is a good idea here too. I’m sorry, I just want to be sure!)

5. Pour the pumpkin batter on top of the brownie batter. Dollop the remaining one-third of the brownie batter on top. Use a knife to swirl the brownie dollops in and around the pumpkin batter.

6. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until the center just ever-so-slightly jiggles. Remove from the oven and let cool on the counter. Then, wrap and refrigerate until chilled. For nice clean cuts (assuming you don’t eat them with a spoon, while hovering over the pan), run a sharp knife under hot water, dry and then slice. Repeat between slices, until you just give up and decide you don’t care that the edges aren’t perfect and it’s more important to just get them onto a plate and into your face.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! If you have questions on Turkey Day, ping me on Twitter!