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Early last week, I hopped into my car, setting my reusable grocery totes and a container of homemade treats to deliver to a friend on the passenger’s seat beside me. I glanced at the clock, inserted my key into the ignition, turned and…
Nothing.
I removed the key, peered at the dashboard, then slid it back into the slot. I rotated it multiple times, twisting as far as it would go, but the lights on the speedometer and gas gauge only flickered. My car refused to start.
Slightly panicked, I called my dad and described the situation. When I explained that I needed to drive across town for an important appointment in two hours, he immediately suggested to phone AAA to see if someone could come replace my car’s battery.
Half an hour later, a bright yellow tow truck pulled into the driveway alongside my car. A tall bearded man climbed out and introduced himself before plugging in his equipment to test the battery. When he confirmed it was dead and my car required a new one, he asked me to sign some paperwork and inquired how I wanted to pay.
“What’s easiest for you?” I replied. When he stated a credit card, I promptly nodded and agreed.
“Well, I could also take gold…” he quickly responded, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“I can’t do gold, but I can pay you in cookies!” I laughed.
Little did he know that I had a fresh batch of my ultimate healthy oatmeal raisin cookies and these Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Pie Brownies sitting on my counter! These healthy autumn treats have the same fudgy texture as brownies, but they taste like pumpkin pie… And with just 63 calories, they come with absolutely no guilt!
To make them, you’ll start with white whole wheat flour. White whole wheat flour is made by finely grinding a special type of white wheat, whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat. This gives white whole wheat flour a lighter taste and texture, which really allows the pumpkin flavor to shine in these treats.
Note: Whole wheat pastry flour would be a great substitute, and I included my recommend gluten-free flour blend in the Notes section of the recipe, if you prefer.
Because this recipe only contains 1½ tablespoons of coconut oil, the rest of its irresistible texture comes from a combination of two ingredients: Greek yogurt and pumpkin purée. If you’ve been around my blog for a while, you know how much I love Greek yogurt! It adds the same moisture as extra butter or oil for a fraction of the calories, and with around 21g of protein per cup, it gives your baked goods a protein boost, too.
As for the second ingredient, remember to buy regular ol’ pumpkin purée! Skip the pumpkin pie mix; that contains refined sugar, which we’re avoiding in this healthy recipe. We’ll mix in our own clean eating sweetener and cinnamon to create that irresistible pumpkin pie flavor instead. (Bonus: The pumpkin purée also acts as an egg replacement, so the batter is perfectly safe to eat raw! If you like sneaking a taste test or two like me…)
Instead of granulated sugar, you’ll mix in another one of my favorite ingredients: vanilla crème stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that’s clean eating friendly, and it’s highly concentrated. A little goes a long way—you’ll only need 1¼ teaspoons in this recipe! This is the kind that I buy because I love its warm vanilla flavor and don’t notice any strange aftertastes like with some other stevia products. You can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, but I buy it online here because that’s the best price I’ve found. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
And of course, don’t forget the mini chocolate chips! Their smaller size ensures that every bite contains at least one morsel of chocolate, which is incredibly important to a chocoholic like me. This is the brand that I love because the chips have a really rich flavor and melt very well. (I used them in lots of recipes in my Healthier Chocolate Treats cookbook, too!)
Who wants one?? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your pumpkin pie brownies and feature them in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Pie Brownies | | Print |
- 1 ¼ cups (150g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tbsp (21g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted
- ¾ cup (183g) pumpkin purée, room temperature (not pumpkin pie mix)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 ¼ tsp vanilla crème stevia
- 2 tbsp (30mL) nonfat milk
- 2 ½ tbsp (35g) miniature chocolate chips, divided
- Preheat the oven to 300°F, and lightly coat a 9”-square pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, stir together the coconut oil, pumpkin, and vanilla. Mix in the Greek yogurt, stirring until no large lumps remain.* Mix in the stevia and milk. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan, and sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top. Bake at 300°F for 15-17 minutes. Cool completely to room temperature in the pan, and let the brownies rest for an additional 3 hours before slicing for the fudgiest texture.
Whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour. In a pinch, regular whole wheat flour will work, but the brownies will have a slightly more wheat-y flavor that may mask some of the banana flavor.
Any milk will work in place of the nonfat milk.
For a vegan version, substitute pumpkin purée for the Greek yogurt, and substitute any non-dairy milk in place of the nonfat milk.
I highly recommend using the vanilla crème stevia! It's my favorite no-calorie sweetener, and you'll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too. The best substitute I can recommend in place of the vanilla crème stevia is 3 ¾ teaspoons of this powdered stevia. If substituting a different sweetener (i.e. coconut sugar, honey, pure maple syrup, etc.), you’ll need about ½ cup, and the baking time and texture will be different.
*If the coconut oil or butter re-solidifies upon adding the Greek yogurt, microwave the mixture for 10-14 seconds to re-melt it (ONLY if your bowl is microwave safe!).
{gluten-free, vegan option, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, lower sugar}
View Nutrition Information
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♥ The Ultimate Healthy Soft & Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
♥ Pumpkin Pie Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
♥ Skinny Single-Serving Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Mug Cake
♥ Skinny Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
♥ Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
♥ Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Mini Muffins
♥ …and the rest of Amy’s pumpkin recipes!
The fact that I was looking chocolate chip pumpkin brownie recipes last night and couldn’t find one with ingredients I had on hand….you read my mind completely!!! 😉 Cannot wait to make these beauties! Xo
Yet another twin moment Marina!! 😉 I’m excited to hear what you think of them!
Haha, it would be great to be able to pay in cookies – how about golden cookies! I hope your car is working okay now.? These pumpkin pie brownies look delicious! And guess what I made yesterday? Your pumpkin pie recipe!! It was SO amazing – even better than normal pumpkin pie as it doesn’t have that heaviness that the ‘real thing’ usually has. I’ve still got leftovers in the fridge for pudding tonight, yay!?
I’m so glad you loved the pumpkin pie Katie!! I’m truly touched that you made it so quickly! 🙂 I wish I could pay people in cookies and other baked treats… I’m almost always swimming in them! 😉
I made this recipe tonight. I used almond milk and powdered stevia. Mine didn’t turn out smooth like yours. Also, I cooked them for 20+ minutes and they were still wet & gooey. What did I do wrong?
I really appreciate that you tried my recipe so soon after I posted it Jennifer! That means a lot to me. 🙂 When the brownies are “done,” the center should still look glossy and not quite baked through. This is why the Instructions say to cool completely to room temperature in the pan, and then let them set for an additional 3 hours. The heat from the pan should continue to cook through the center during that time. The bars should have the same extra fudgy texture as brownies. Was that the texture that they had today?
These look amazing, and I need to make them soon! I’m sooo ready for the fall and all things pumpkin, but here in Denmark, we’re having quite the Indian summer, which is really unusual for us. But that won’t keep me from making all the fall recipes anyway 🙂
Love, Emma
http://www.martinyfood.com
I can relate Emma — it’s 100°F where I live this weekend! 😉 I’d love to hear what you think when you try these pumpkin pie brownies!
Oh no! Your poor car, what a bummer, but treats make everything better. 🙂
SO true! Especially vegan ones, right? 😉 I’m totally jealous of all of the amazing food you’ve found while cat sitting!!
I searched for Carrot Cookies and found your site. The pumpkin brownie recipe had me decide to subscribe to your blog. I hope to make the brownies today. Such interesting ingredients for a brownie. I appreciate all the substitutions; otherwise the recipe would have gotten filed for “later”.
I’m truly touched that you’ve subscribed to my blog Carol! That really means a lot to me. I can’t wait to hear what you think of these pumpkin pie brownies (and the carrot cake oatmeal cookies, if you decide to make them as well)! 🙂
Hi Amy!
Made these yesterday and I love the fudgy texture but I can definitely taste an aftertaste from the vanilla stevia (nunaturals brand) and they just weren’t sweet enough for me. What extra or other sweetener could I try? Would a mixture of Splenda and real sugar or honey work? Any recommendations? Again I love the texture but need them sweeter!! Thanks!
Chrissy
I’m glad you like the texture Chrissy! I haven’t worked much with NuNaturals, so it could be that their product’s aftertaste is stronger. I actually went over other sweetener options already in the Notes section underneath the Instructions. If you still have questions after reading over that, I’m happy to help! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you end up trying!
I see! If I use 1/2 c brown sugar or 1/2 honey (which would you suggest?) how do I adjust the cooking time? Any other ingredients need to be adjusted?
I’d recommend brown sugar since it’ll add less liquid to the batter, and you can omit the milk. The baking time will be longer, but I’m not sure by how much. They’ll be done when the edges look set but the center still looks glossy and slightly underdone. I can’t wait to hear what you think of them Chrissy!
Hi! I loved these. I substituted the stevia for coconut sugar, the greek yogurt for pumpkin puree, and the milk for coconut milk. They turned out different but very fudgy! How long do they stay good for???