This pumpkin brownie pizza is a simple fall dessert with a wow factor that is easy and delicious! All you need is a brownie mix, a tub of frosting and some candy to turn this brownie into a pumpkin! This pumpkin shaped treat is kid friendly and perfect for a Halloween or Thanksgiving dessert table!

How to Make a Brownie Pizza

A couple of years ago I made this peanut butter chocolate chip cookie pizza and my kids absolutely loved it! Because I used a lot of fall colors in the candy it works perfect as a fall dessert. I wanted to try that again with a brownie. Did you know that box of brownie mix (13 x 9 inch pan size) will bake perfectly in a 12 inch pizza pan? It will! You’ll want to prepare the mix according to package directions for fudge-like brownies, not cake-like. Just make sure the batter doesn’t extend out beyond the lip that surrounds the pizza pan so it doesn’t spill over the edge.

I wanted my brownie to look like a large pumpkin so it would work for both Halloween, Thanksgiving and just as a general fall dessert. To keep things simple, I used a tub of vanilla frosting for the top. I tinted it orange using the Wilton Color Right System. I love the accuracy when using this food coloring.

You can use anywhere from 3 to 5 or more drops, depending upon how dark you want your orange icing. It is the perfect amount of frosting to spread over the top of your brownie.

I used a small metal spatula to spread out the frosting and went over it a second time to create lines so it better resembled a pumpkin.

How to Make Edible Leaves and Vines

The key to this brownie pizza actually looking like a pumpkin is in the edible leaves and vines. While you can make them with fondant or chocolate, I like to make my edible shapes with candy like I did with this edible hot dog cupcake topper. For these pumpkin leaves and vines, I chose lime tootsie rolls. You’ll need about 3 to 4 total for this project, depending upon how many vines you want.

To work with the candy you’ll want to soften them up. To do this, I simply microwaved two lime tootsie rolls for about 5 seconds in my microwave. You may think you’ll need to heat them longer but you are just trying to make them more pliable. You do NOT want to melt your candy. I then shaped them into a ball and rolled them out on a flat surface with a fondant roller and cut out my leaves with a small leaf cutter.

With the excess I rolled the green candy into vines. To create more vines, heat another toostie roll for just a few seconds again and roll them into snakes. As they sit they will hold their shape well so have fun creating vines that curl and change direction.

For the stem I chose a wrapped caramel. Chocolate tootsie rolls would have also worked great but I found my family had eaten all the leftovers I had from making chocolate footballs for my game day dessert table. So, I worked with what I had and the caramel really worked just as well.

To make the stem I heated my caramel for about 5 seconds in the microwave, rolled it out with my fondant roller and then cut the shape I wanted. You can make a bigger stem if you use another caramel.

When placing your candies on top of your pumpkin brownie, I would suggest mapping how you would like your vines and leaves to lay ahead of time. Once you place your candy down, it is really hard to move them without disturbing the frosting.

That is all there is to creating a pumpkin brownie pizza for a Halloween or Thanksgiving dessert!

Pumpkin Brownie Pizza

Servings 16

Author Emilie at FindingZest.com

Ingredients

1 package fudge brownie mix 13x9-inch pan size
1 can 16 ounces vanilla frosting
orange food coloring
3 to 4 lime flavored tootsie fruit rolls
caramel candy or chocolate tootsie roll

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray 12-in. pizza pan with cooking spray.
Prepare your brownie batter according to package directions for fudge-like brownies.
Spread batter on pizza pan, being careful to not let the batter go over the sides. (Try to stay within 1 in. of edges if possible)
Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
Stir 3 to 5 drops of orange food coloring into vanilla frosting.
Frost brownie using small metal spatula. Use edge of spatula to create pumpkin lines in frosting.
For stem, heat caramel in microwave for 5 seconds. Roll caramel out and cut into stem shape.
For leaves and vines, heat lime tootsie fruit rolls in microwave for a few seconds, just until pliable. (Do not melt!) Roll out and cut two small leaves with small leave cutter. For vines, roll excess tootsie rolls into vines shapes and place on brownie pizza.