Cream Cheese Swirl Pumpkin Brownies Recipe

By
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 05/27/22
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies

The Spruce / Ali Redmond

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Total: 45 mins
Servings: 16 servings
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
168 Calories
8g Fat
22g Carbs
3g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 16
Amount per serving
Calories 168
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 8g 10%
Saturated Fat 5g 23%
Cholesterol 53mg 18%
Sodium 177mg 8%
Total Carbohydrate 22g 8%
Dietary Fiber 1g 3%
Total Sugars 14g
Protein 3g
Vitamin C 1mg 3%
Calcium 48mg 4%
Iron 1mg 5%
Potassium 82mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

These pumpkin cake-like "brownies" are made extra special with swirls of cream cheese batter throughout. This makes a fantastic autumn dessert, perfect for the holidays or when you are craving the flavors of fall.

A simple batter of flour, pumpkin puree, eggs, butter, sugar, and warm spices is swirled with a sweet cream cheese mixture before baking, creating a delicious and pretty-looking dessert.

Ingredients

For Pumpkin Brownie:

  • 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter

  • 1 cup light brown sugar, packed

  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  • 2 large eggs

  • 1 cup pumpkin puree

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

For Cream Cheese Swirl:

  • 4 ounces cream cheese, softened

  • 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar

  • 1 large egg

  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Steps to Make It

Make the Brownie

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies ingredients

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

  2. Butter and flour an 11 x 7-inch baking pan. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

    buttered / greased baking pan

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

  3. In a large mixing bowl, using a hand mixer, beat the softened butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.

    beat butter and brown sugar beat together in a glass bowl

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

  4. Beat in the vanilla and eggs until light and creamy. Beat in the pumpkin puree.

    butter, sugar, eggs and pumpkin mixture in a bowl

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

  5. In another bowl, whisk together the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.

    baking powder, soda, salt, and spices in a bowl

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

  6. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until well blended.

    wet and dry ingredients for the pumpkin brownie batter together in a bowl

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

  7. Spread the batter into the prepared baking pan.

    pumpkin brownies batter in a baking dish

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

Make the Cream Cheese Swirl

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    cream cheese swirl ingredients

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

  2. In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, egg, vanilla, and flour. Beat for 1 to 2 minutes, until smooth and creamy.

    cream cheese, egg, confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and flour in a bowl

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

Finish and Bake the Brownies

  1. Spoon the cream cheese mixture onto the pumpkin batter. Using a small narrow spatula or butter knife, swirl the cream cheese batter into the pumpkin batter.

    cream cheese poured and swirled into pumpkin brownie mixture in a baking pan

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

  2. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

  3. Set the pan on a rack to cool, then turn out onto a cutting board and cut into squares.

    Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

  4. Enjoy.

Tip

Make sure to use pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. These two canned pumpkin products are made from pureed squash, but whereas the pumpkin puree is 100 percent vegetable, the pie filling contains added sweeteners.

Recipe Variations

  • If a brownie isn't a brownie without chocolate, feel free to add some chocolate chips to the top before baking.
  • For some added flavor, drizzle the warm brownies with a little bit of pure maple syrup.
  • You can bake these pumpkin swirl brownies in muffin tins filled with paper liners. Keep in mind that they will not puff up like a muffin or cupcake since these are more like brownies, but they will make for a nice presentation.