Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brookies

Brookies. Have you heard of them before?  A brownie and a cookie mixed together. Yup. It's as amazing as it sounds. 

This past Thursday, I realized I hadn't crossed off many things from my fall baking list. Yes, I made a list of things I wanted to make. I do this a lot. It's the only way I get things done. I also realized that I had yet to send a fresh baked treat to work with hubs this fall. Since Halloween was the following day, I decided it was the perfect time to send some treats in with him. 

I used a boxed brownie mix for the brownie part of this deliciousness. I had a box in the pantry and went the easy route. If I had cookie dough in the fridge for the cookie part, I would have used that too. Unfortunately, I didn't. So I used the recipe below for the pumpkin chocolate chip cookie portion. 

Overall, it took me a little less than a half hour (with a little at my foot and one in the solly baby wrap on my chest.) Cook time was a half hour. Worth every minute. These babies were my kind of dessert. The best of both worlds all in one little square. I ate three right away and had to package the rest before I ate the entire pan. These are sure to be a hit at any gathering this season! 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brookies

Adapted from Something Swanky 

Ingredients

Brownie Mix with ingredients for brownies: eggs, oil water 

For the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie layer:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree 
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/4 cups flour 
• 1/2 cup pumpkin spice baking chips
• 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9x13 baking dish and set aside.
2. Prepare brownie mix as directed on the package. Set aside. 


3. In a separate bowl, mix the butter, sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla.
4. In another bowl, mix together the salt, baking soda, and flour. Add it to the butter/ sugar mixture little by little until the dough is formed. 
5. Fold in the pumpkin and chocolate chips. 
6. Pour half of the brownie mixture into the bottom of the baking dish. Just enough to cover the bottom of the dish in a thin layer. 
7. Next, drop tablespoon sized balls of dough on top of the brownie layer. I used a medium cookie scoop to do this. I tried to evenly place them on top of the batter. Spread lightly with a knife or spatula. 
8. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

You'll have half of the brownie mixture left over. You can make another batch of the brookies or make some brownies. I decided to make 24 mini brownies using a mini muffin pan with the leftover batter. I baked them for 10 minutes at 350.  

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin bread is a staple in my house during the fall months. If you come over for coffee, I'll most likely offer you a piece of pumpkin bread to enjoy with it. There is just something about pumpkin bread, coffee and the cool fall breeze that fits together. It's my idea of an ideal breakfast, or lately in my case, my mid morning snack. Here is a recipe for my favorite pumpkin bread. The combination of the sweet chocolate chips with moist pumpkin bread, topped off with spices is perfect for fall. Enjoy! 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil 
• 3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 

Directions:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350. 
• 2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking side, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside. 
• 2. In another bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and vegetable oil. 
• 3. Add dry mixture to the wet mixture about a cup at a time and continue to mix. 
• 4. Once batter is formed, fold in chocolate chips. 
• 5. Pour into a greased loaf pan (mine was 8x4.) 
• 6. Bake for 1 hour or until cooked through. 
• 7. Cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to a finish cooling on a wire rack. 
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