brownies

Maple Pecan Brownies

Posted on November 19, 2021February 12, 2026 by Mari Vasseur

Pecan pie was my mom’s favorite, but she didn’t bake pies, so I always used to bake her one for Thanksgiving. One year, I made a chocolate version. It was delicious, but let’s just say it wasn’t user friendly. It was gooey and hard to serve. Over the years, it eventually morphed into these Maple Pecan Brownies. The brownie version is still delicious, rich and gooey with toasty pecans, but much more user friendly.

Enjoying Maple Pecan Brownies with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee is a must. Thinking of it brings back memories. I can practically smell my dad brewing the coffee to go with these brownies.

Maple Pecan Brownies

Rich, gooey brownies topped with pecan pie filling

Print Recipe

Course Dessert

Servings 16 brownies

Ingredients

¾ cup (6 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
¾ cup (5 1/4 ounces) brown sugar
3 large eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
¾ cup (2 1/4 ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted preferably Dutch process cocoa
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups (5 5/8 ounces) flour

Pecan Topping

¼ cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter, melted
½ cup (3 1/2 ounces) brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon maple extract
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups (7 ounces) pecan halves or pieces

Instructions

Brownies

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, overlapping the sides an inch or two. Spray parchment paper with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, stir together melted butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until well combined.
Mix in eggs and vanilla, one at a time, until well combined.
Mix in cocoa powder, baking soda and salt until well combined.
Stir in flour just until combined.
Spread batter into prepared baking pan. Bake just until top is set, about 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare pecan topping.
When brownie top is set, remove from oven. Gently pour pecan topping around the outer perimeter of brownies, to avoid making brownies sink in the middle. Evenly distribute the pecan topping over the top gently with a spoon.
Return the brownies to the oven and continue baking until the topping is set, about 20-25 minutes. Brownies will stop jiggling and topping will look deep golden brown. Toothpick inserted inside will have a few moist crumbs on it. (If your topping starts to brown too much on the edges before the inside is done, apply aluminum foil around the edges as you would with a pie.)
Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting, about 2- 2 1/2 hours.
Cut into squares, wiping knife between cuts.

Pecan Topping

In a medium bowl, stir together maple syrup, butter, brown sugar, egg, maple extract and salt until well combined.
Stir in pecans until well coated with maple syrup mixture.
Set aside until brownies are partially baked.

Keyword brownies, chocolate, maple pecan

Pumpkin Cheesecake Crumble Brownies

Posted on October 28, 2020February 12, 2026 by Mari Vasseur

It’s Fall 2020. We need chocolate! We need pumpkin spice! And we need it drenched with caramel! These satisfying brownies check all of the boxes with multiple layers of comfort. A rich chocolate brownie is the base. The next layer is heavenly pumpkin cheesecake. The topping is a buttery crumble that rivals the best crumb cake. Finally, as if that isn’t enough, it’s drizzled with caramel sauce!

If it sounds complicated, don’t worry, it’s not. Each layer is super easy to make. You can use your favorite store bought caramel sauce to top it with. Vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream are optional, but highly recommended toppings also. Just saying.

The layers go unexpectedly well together and make the perfect dessert for Halloween or Thanksgiving. I’m even going to add these beauties to my Christmas dessert table this year. Enjoy! You deserve it.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Crumble Brownies

Chocolate brownies with pumpkin cheesecake and crumb topping, topped with caramel sauce.

Print Recipe

Course Dessert

Servings 12

Ingredients

Crumb Topping

1 ½ cups (6 3/4 ounces) all purpose flour
½ cup (3 1/4 ounces) brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

Pumpkin Cheesecake Layer

¾ cup (6 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup (8 ounces) canned pumpkin
2 eggs
6 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Brownie Layer

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 ⅛ cup (8 ounces) granulated sugar
½ cup (2 1/8 ounces) Dutch-Process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
3 eggs
¾ cup (3 3/8 ounces) all purpose flour
½ cup caramel sauce, purchased or homemade warmed if desired

Instructions

Crumb Topping

In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.
Cut in butter using a pastry blender or your fingers until well-combined and crumbles are pea-sized. Press crumbles together to make large quarter-sized chunks.
Set aside in refrigerator.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Layer

Preheat oven to 350º. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth.
Add pumpkin, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg and beat until well combined. Set aside.

Brownie Layer

Melt 1 stick of butter in a large microwaveable bowl.
Stir in sugar until combined
Stir in cocoa powder, vanilla, baking powder and salt.
Add the eggs and beat until smooth
Add the flour and mix until just combined.
Spread brownie batter into prepared baking pan. Smooth with a spatula.
Spread pumpkin cheesecake batter over the top of brownie batter. Smooth with a spatula.
Sprinkle crumb topping evenly over the top of pumpkin cheesecake layer.
Bake for 40-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted into pumpkin cheesecake layer comes out clean.
Let cool completely. Cut into squares and serve with caramel sauce.

Cocoa Meringue Brownies

Posted on December 28, 2016February 12, 2026 by Mari Vasseur

One of my favorite things to top desserts with are meringue cookies. They’re as light as air and they look so pretty and whimsical! The color and flavor combinations are endless, so you can really have some fun getting creative. I decided to whip some up, especially for placing on top of my favorite brownies. They take even the most humble brownies to a new level. You can use your favorite brownie recipe or even a boxed brownie mix. I won’t judge! I like to make the meringues a day or two ahead since they take quite a while to bake in the oven. While they bake, a subtle chocolate scent will waft through your kitchen, reminding you of the smell of hot cocoa. They even taste like hot cocoa! You can make your brownies a few hours ahead or the night before. I cut mine into rounds with a 2 1/2-inch cutter. I cut 12 rounds of this size from a 13 x 9-inch batch of brownies. Right before serving, spoon some thick, glossy chocolate ganache on the brownies, then top them with your pretty meringues! To make these little bits of chocolate heaven, you’ll need:

1 batch Cocoa Meringues (recipe below)
1 batch of your favorite brownies
1 batch chocolate ganache (see notes)

Cocoa Meringues

Pretty, light and crispy treats that taste like hot cocoa!

Print Recipe

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 2

Total Time 4 30

Course Dessert

Servings 1 batch

Ingredients

4 large egg whites, room temperature
⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
⅓ cup (67g) fine granulated sugar
½ cup (60g) powdered sugar
¼ cup (25g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
Brown gel food coloring *optional

Instructions

Preheat oven to 200ºF (95ºC). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa powder in a medium-sized bowl and whisk until well blended.
Place the egg whites in a large bowl. Whip the egg whites with the whip attachment of an electric mixer, at medium speed, until foamy.
Add the cream of tartar and salt to the egg whites. Whip at medium-high speed until soft peaks form.
Gradually add the granulated sugar and continue whipping, at medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form.
Stop the mixer. Sprinkle the powdered sugar and cocoa mixture over the egg whites and whip at low speed until incorporated, about 10 seconds.
*This step is optional. Place a large, disposable pastry bag, fitted with a round piping tip, into a tall drinking glass. (I used a Wilton tip #12.) Fold the top third of the bag over the glass, forming a cuff. Using a small, clean paintbrush, paint thin, vertical stripes of food coloring on the inside of the bag, from the piping tip to the edge of the fold.
Spoon the egg white mixture into the pastry bag. Pipe small kisses, 1 inch apart, onto the prepared baking sheets. (I made mine about 3/4-inch to 1-inch in diameter. If you'd like larger kisses, use a larger size piping tip.)
Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Turn off the oven and leave the meringues in oven to cool and continue drying out for an additional 2 hours. Store tightly covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Notes

To make the chocolate ganache, I used a ratio of two parts semi-sweet chocolate to one part heavy cream. (Weighing the ingredients will give you the most accurate ratio.) Place 8 ounces. (227g) of chopped semi-sweet chocolate into a medium bowl. Heat 1/2 cup (4 oz/ 118ml) of heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring the cream just to a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate, making sure to cover it completely. Let sit for 2 minutes, then stir gently until smooth.