And so it goes. Today is the last day of Vegan MoFo. This month of posting has been fun, tiring, and inspirational. Did I mention tiring? I honestly cannot wait to just veg on my couch for a week like a loser after I press publish on this baby. I have done 15 blog posts (which means 15 new recipes) and a slew of Instagram pics this year. (Check out my IG, if you haven’t had a peep) The prompts this year stretched me out of my comfort zone and set my mind percolating on innovative recipes I may not have otherwise tried. Like this one!

Everyone’s made brownies before. But not everyone’s made Pumpkin Chai Brownies before (or at least, you would think that until you google ‘pumpkin chai brownies’ -_- ). Today’s prompt, “Fusion challenge!” gave me the inspiration for this recipe. It is a fragrant melange of two of my favorite cuisines: Indian + Autumnal American (I’m not a big fan of winter, summer, or spring American. If there even are such things) Chai masala is holding down the Indian side, and pumpkin brownies are holding down the Autumnal American.

The chai spice powder that I used is made from a recipe in Vegan Richa’s cookbook, Vegan Richa’s Indian Kitchen. It is a blend of green cardamom pods, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, and ground ginger. I have included a link to a recipe she posts on her blog, in case you’d like to make some, too! Of course, if you have a pre-made chai powder laying around, feel free to use that. If you say “Wait, Maggie, I really don’t have that many spices in my pantry”, I would suggest using 1 tsp ground cinnamon and 1 tsp ground cardamom. Yes, yes, cardamom can be hard to find, but it really is what gives chai its unique taste.

Here are all the ingredients (minus plant milk) lined up and ready to be brownie-fied.

I spread a sleek chocolate glaze over top for some extra pizazz. These cakey beauties are plush, moist, and zippy. Try them with a steaming mug of coffee or tea to warm up on a chilly evening. I think that with their nutritional profile (whole-grain, not too high in fat, and fortified with pumpkin) you can even get away with having them as a midday snack 🙂

Pumpkin Chai Brownies

Adapted from Oh She Glows

Ingredients

• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup + 3 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 cup vegan butter, melted
• 2 tbsp plant milk
• 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup spelt flour
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 tsp chai spice powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• Glaze: 2 tbsp chocolate chips + 1/2 tbsp coconut oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix pumpkin, sugar, butter, milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Sift in the spelt flour, cornstarch, cocoa, chai spice, salt, and baking soda. Mix until combined.
2. Grease an 8 x 8 baking dish. Spread mixture into dish. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. Allow to cool before slicing.
3. To make glaze, heat chocolate chips and oil for 30 seconds in microwave. Stir. Repeat until a smooth glaze forms. Spread over brownies.