Comments on: A First Foray: Slightly Swirly Pumpkin Brownies

By: Susan H.

Susan H. — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:59:42 +0000

Ele – LOL, yes, I did have to pitch them, because the friend I made them for makes pastry for the local co-op. She has very discerning taste. :) And she really liked them!

By: Ele

Ele — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:38:56 +0000

Susan- I love that you’re “pitching them”, ha ha! For some reason that just makes me laugh ;) You’re right about the sweetness, I cut the sugar waaay down on these.

By: Susan H.

Susan H. — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:27:21 +0000

I made these yesterday for my friend’s birthday. Mine came out quite a bit denser than Ele’s look, and I did use canned pumpkin. Still not the brownie for those who like ‘em really dense and fudge-y, but I like a cakey brownie so I’m happy. I am pitching them to people as “neither fudge nor cake nor brownie” and that seems to be working. :)

I used very dark chocolate, and if I make this again I’ll probably add a little more sugar.

By: Ele

Ele — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:50:38 +0000

Larissa- That’s how they were for me, too- dense and cakey. Probably too dense to pass for an actual cake, now that I think of it. I guess I just like brownies to be VERY dense, with no hint of “cake” at all. I like to feel slightly ill after eating a good brownie ;)

But you’re very right about the pumpkin- I think mine did retain a lot of water, which probably made them lighter.

Dana- I haven’t had enough experience with pumpkin desserts to decide whether I like them, yet. Andrew is with you, though. He gets quite upset when I try to put things in brownies! Case in point: he said he’d like these if I called them “cake” but once I said they were meant to be brownies, he was disappointed.

By: Dana

Dana — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 06:22:19 +0000

At our Thanksgiving table we have a pumpkin pie expert. She has been faithfully making them since I was 3 years old and that was a long time ago. I still don’t like pumpkin pie. I love squash but I just don’t have a taste for it in desserts. You make a compelling argument for these brownies (and love the photos) but I still think I would prefer my brownies plain. Sorry. :)

By: Larissa

Larissa — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:40:52 +0000

Hmm, when I made these they were very dense and cakey, but then again I used canned pumpkin. I think fresh pumpkin done yourself retains more water hence creating a lighter baked good.
They are still yummy though :)

By: Ele

Ele — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 07:42:41 +0000

Chris- Yes, definitely show Lil. Or you could always make these FOR her…?

Larissa- I liked them, but I would have preferred them to be fudgier. I guess I like my brownies to be brownies and my cakes to be cakes.

Maya- You can, it’s imported from the States usually. Any specialty food store or large grocery store should have a section for imported stuff. In fact, my local food shop has a random mix of American stuff (Nestlé chips, marshmallow Fluff, Crisco, Oreos) and carries it. But I wanted to use a real pumpkin- after all, it’s a blog about cooking with vegetables!

By: Maya

Maya — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:57:37 +0000

Yuuuuuuum.

Can you buy canned pumpkin in England?

By: Larissa

Larissa — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:16:27 +0000

I have made these before, they are soooo goood.

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:44:30 +0000

Presentation smesentation… These look really yummy.. I’ll have to make sure Lil sees this in hopes she’ll make some.. :)