Chocolate Squash Brownies

I was off from work the entire week of Thanksgiving. As a result, I decided to do a bunch of baking and make different treats. I have a bunch of butternut squash from my CSA box that needs to be used. So I thought perhaps chocolate squash brownies might be a good option. After all I’ve made chocolate beet cupcakes before and they were super moist and delicious. So I started an internet search and found a recipe from Food & Wine. One issue with the recipe was the fact it required unsweetened chocolate which I didn’t have on hand. So I substituted cocoa powder and oil. I also really like having nuts in my brownies so I added those. Below is my edited recipe

Ingredients

  • 1/2 medium butternut squash (1 1/2 pounds)—halved and seeded
  • 5 ounces unsweetened chocolate
  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
  • 1 cup unsweetened cocoa<
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 cup of chopped walnuts

Directions

  1. Cook the butternut squash in oven at 350 for 1 hour. Flip squash 30 minute in.
  2. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with parchment paper; spray the paper.
  3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar, vanilla and salt at medium speed, until pale and thick, about 2 minutes. Beat in the cocoa, oil, and the squash.
  4. At low speed, beat in the flour and baking powder. Add chopped nuts and beat.
  5. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

The final product was moist cake-like brownies that were super rich and a big hit with my family.