Healthy Chocolate Pumpkin Brownies- The Perfect Thanksgiving Dessert!

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is right around the corner. November seems to be flying by and before I know it it will be Christmas! Let the hectic holiday season begin! No matter how hectic the holidays are this is one of my favorite times of year. Everyone seems to be a little bit nicer and I love the generosity of the season. And let's not forget the food! 

One of best parts about the holidays in my house is the delicious food, and there is always a lot of it! My mom makes a delicious turkey which is single handedly my favorite holiday dish ever, that and her homemade cranberry sauce. And in my house it's not Thanksgiving without pumpkin something. This year I got an early start on experimenting with new pumpkin recipes and this year there are going to be chocolate pumpkin brownies at my families Thanksgiving table!

You will need:

• 1/2 cup organic pumpkin puree NOT pumpkin pie filling
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon organic agave nectar, you can substitute a little less than 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon plus an additional 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons safflower oil, you can substitute vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons almond milk or skim milk
• 1/4 cup Hersey's cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon plus 1/16 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• OPTIONAL: add a pinch of pumpkin pie spice for some extra flavor

Preheat the oven to 330 degrees and spray an 8x8 pan with nonstick cook spray.

In a large mixing bowl combine pumpkin puree, agave nectar, vanilla, safflower oil, and almond milk. Be sure to completely mix ingredients together.

In a separate mixing bowl mix together cocoa powder, whole wheat flour, baking powder, and salt. Again completely mix all ingredients.

Carefully add wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Thoroughly combine the wet and dry ingredients. 

Once all the ingredients are combined toss in the chocolate chips and fold them into the batter.

Finally pour the batter into the greased 8x8 pan. Bake for 25 minutes at 330 degrees. The brownies may not look completely done after 25 minutes but I promise they are. The edges should harden and pull away slightly from the pan when they are done. 

Allow the brownies to completely cool before cutting and serving. I allowed mine to cool and harden overnight before I cut them. Depending on how you cut them I got 15 medium sized brownies.

Placing wax paper between layers of brownies
prevents them from sticking together.

Nutrition (per serving, 1 brownie):

Calories: 82

Carbs: 14

Fats: 3 grams

Protein: 1 grams

Sodium: 64 grams

Sugar: 10 grams