I’m so excited to share this recipe! It might sound weird at first, but I promise it’s one of the greatest healthy substitutions that I’ve ever found. When a friend shared their version of this recipe with me, I was skeptical. How can pumpkin taste good in a brownie? I know it’s not a popular opinion, but I’m not even a fan of pumpkin pie. So as you can imagine, I wasn’t exactly looking forward to trying pumpkin-based brownies.

Reluctantly, I made a small batch with a few of my own substitutions on the off chance that I would actually like these strange wannabe brownies. Much to my surprise (and excitement) these were actually one of the tastiest desserts I’ve had! They’re rich in flavor, and you can’t even taste the pumpkin at all.

I heard once that there are two kinds of people in the world – those that prefer edge brownies and those that prefer brownies from the middle of the pan. Well, I’m a middle-brownie person. I love the soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture and think that the edge pieces are too stiff and stale tasting. Which is another reason why these brownies are so amazing! The pumpkin puree creates a middle-brownie texture even on the edges. I’ve already made two batches this week, and don’t plan on going without anytime soon!

The original recipe that my friend shared with me had 2 tablespoons of vanilla protein powder instead of sugar. However, most protein powder contains folic acid which is one of the substances that those of us with MTHFR cannot process normally. So, I went ahead and made my version with vanilla extract and sugar instead and it’s still amazing!

Ingredients

• 2 cups of pumpkin puree – I used this brand from Thrive Market
• 1/2 cup of unsweetened almond butter*
• 1/2 cup of cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• Optional: 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract for flavor

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl until there are no clumps.
3. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray (I love this coconut oil spray) and distribute the batter evenly. Each round should be about halfway full.
4. Bake for about 30 minutes. Due to all of the wet ingredients, it will never be solid in the middle (like when you stick a toothpick in a cake to make sure it’s done). The purpose of baking it is to solidify the outside so your brownie doesn’t fall apart as soon as you touch it.
5. While the brownies are baking, lick the mixing bowl because the batter is egg free so there’s no risk of salmonella 🙂
6. After 30 minutes, remove the muffin tray from the oven and let it cool for about an hour.
7. After it’s cooled to almost room temperature, place the whole tin the refrigerator for about 3 hours (although I did it overnight). Refrigerating the brownies will give them a more solid cheesecake-like texture. After that, they’re ready to eat!

These brownies MUST be kept refrigerated if they’re not going to be eaten right away.  They should last about 4 days in the fridge, but my batches have never made it that long 🙂

*I highly recommend the Kirkand brand of almond butter from Costco. It’s free of any added sugars and oils (the only ingredient is almonds) and it’s the creamiest, smoothest almond butter I’ve tried. Plus, it’s about half the price of the brands I’ve found at regular grocery stores for twice as much almond butter!