picking pumpkins (and a recipe)

On Monday we spent FHE at the pumpkin patch trying to each find our
perfect pumpkin.I don't know if we ever found "the perfect pumpkin",
but we had fun looking at least.

And in honor of our great pumpkin roundup, I shall share a yummy pumpkin recipe!

chocolate pumpkin brownies
(from recipegirl.com)

PUMPKIN BATTER:
1 Tbs unsalted butter, softened
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
1 Tbs all-purpose flour
CHOCOLATE BATTER:
5½ ounces best-quality semisweet- chocolate, finely chopped
1¼ sticks (5 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1½ cups granulated sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter 13×9-inch baking dish.
2. Prepare pumpkin batter: In a small bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter with cream cheese until smooth. Beat in sugar, scraping bowl occasionally. Bet in egg, then add pumpkin puree, vanilla, cinnamon and ginger. Stir in flour.
3. Prepare chocolate batter: Combine semisweet chocolate and butter in a medium bowl. Set bowl over saucepan with 1-inch of simmering water and stir occasionally until melted. Remove from heat. In a separate bowl, combine eggs with sugar, vanilla and salt. Beat at low speed until light and fluffy- about 4 minutes. Using a large rubber spatula, fold in melted chocolate. Sift flour over the batter and fold it in just until combined.
4. Spread chocolate batter evenly in prepared pan. Using a Tablespoon, drop dollops of the pumpkin batter all over the top. Using the back of a butter knife, swirl the pumpkin batter slightly into the chocolate.
5. Bake for 30-40 minutes (starting checking on brownies at 30 minutes to see if they’re done- a toothpick inserted into center should come out clean).
6. Let brownies cool completely before cutting.
Yield: 24 brownies

enjoy!