Pumpkin Pie Brownies

It’s that time of year when the leaves are changing, the air is crisper and absolutely everything you eat either has an apple or a pumpkin in it. This week’s recipe is no different…well, it’s a little different.

I’m sure you’ve seen recipes for “pumpkin pie brownies” floating around the Internet—brownies topped with a pumpkin layer or blondies with pumpkin puree in them, right? Lamesauce. When I say pumpkin pie brownies, I mean brownies crammed full of an entire pumpkin pie.

The original recipe for these brownies is from the Cake Mix Doctor and calls for a pecan pie. Been there, done that. They were amazing, but it was time to branch out. Or vine out, I suppose.

Pumpkin Pie Brownies

Ingredients

– 2 boxes Duncan Hines Fudge Brownie mix

– 2 sticks of butter, melted

– 4 eggs

– 1 pre-made, frozen pumpkin pie

Directions

1. Remove frozen pie from pie tin and set it on the counter to thaw for 20 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9×13 pan. (Lining it with non-stick foil works, too).

3. Combine brownie mix, melted butter and eggs in the biggest bowl you own until incorporated.

4. Chop the pie into 3/4 inch pieces. (You may have to put some elbow grease into it to get the job done.)

5. Fold the pie chunks into the brownie mix and spread into prepared pan. Smooth down with spatula.

6. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes until the edges are set and the middle is only a little soft to the touch.  (I baked the brownies for another 20 minutes before I was happy with their “done-ness.”)

7. Let them cool completely; they will fall apart if you try to cut them while they are still hot.

These are bodyslam-your-three-year-old-next-door-neighbor fantastic. The creamy pumpkin pie chunks are suspended in the dense and gooey brownie in a way that will make your taste buds extol you and your thighs curse you.  And I’m totally okay with that.