½ cup pumpkin puree (store-bough or just cook about 250 g of pumpkin chopped in cubes, when soft, remove the water and blend to get puree)
½ cup almond butter (store-bough or see on the blog under "Vegan" how to make almond butter, for ½ cup butter you'll need 200 g almonds)
½ cup maple syrup
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp raw cacao
⅓ cup spelt flour (or all purpose flour)
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of salt
For topping:
1 cup walnuts
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp coconut oil (or butter)
pinch of salt
Note: 1 cup = 250 ml
Instead of almond butter, you can use cashew butter, I tried it out and it works fine.
Preparation
Preheat oven to 175 C (350 F). Prepare 20 x 20 cm / 8 x 8 inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl combine pumpkin puree, almond butter, eggs, maple syrup and vanilla. Stir with a whisk until combined.
Stir in flour, cacao, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Transfer into prepared baking dish.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes (don't over-bake), remove from the oven and let it cool on room temperature.
While the brownies are baking in the oven, prepare caramelised walnuts for the topping.
In a pan combine whole pecans, maple syrup, coconut oil and salt and stir over medium heat for about 10 minutes until they start to lightly caramelize. Remove from the fire and let them cool.
Once they are cooled down, cut the brownies using a long knife and top them with candied pecans. Enjoy!
Recipe by Travelling oven at https://www.travellingoven.com/2015/11/chocolate-pumpkin-almond-butter-brownies/