Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread


 MMMMMmmmmmmmmmm.  Pumpkin bread.


This is my favorite recipe for Pumpkin Bread and is guaranteed to make your house smell Autumnal and Amazing (what is it with me and alliteration?  Enough already! :) ).

The original calls for raisins, and I love raisins--just not in most baked goods.  They get all slimy and bloated.  Not very appetizing, see?

But substituting chocolate chips is genius, if I do say so myself, even though I can't take credit for the idea of pairing pumpkin and chocolate.  When I first moved to Utah to begin college, my sister would come visit every so often.  When she did, she would go get some groceries for me at a local grocery store called Smith's (sadly no relation).  They made something delicious there called pumpkin chocolate chip cookies--I realize that probably they have been around for ever, but to me, these cookies were a revelation.  If you haven't tried them, I recommend them highly.

So anyway, onto the recipe, which comes by way of Deb Drake from The San Francisco West Portal Lutheran Church's cookbook.  Church cookbooks are the best!  It was my maternal Grandmother's church, and she gave my mom, my sister and me each a copy for Christmas the year before she passed away.  Cooking from it makes me happy, remembering her.

Okay, really--onto the recipe.


Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

2/3 cup butter
2 2/3 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 lb. pumpkin (I use canned usually, but it also works with one you bake and puree yourself, too)
2/3 cups water
3 1/2 cups any mix of white and whole wheat flour (I use finely ground white whole wheat, but anything works)
1/2 tsp ground cloves (the original recipe called for more cloves and less cinnamon, but I like this mix better)
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cardamon (cheapest source is from a whole foods bulk spice aisle--don't pay $10+ a bottle at the grocery store!)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (or 9 ounces roughly chopped chocolate)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Generously grease two 9" x 5" loaf pans.  Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  beat in eggs until well blended.  Stir in pumpkin and water, mixing well.  Sift dry ingredients (or just fluff them around in the bowl after you dump them on top of the wet ingredients like I do :) ).  Stir into pumpkin. just until blended.  Add chocolate chips or chocolate.  Divide into pans.  Bake for approximately 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out cleanish with no batter stuck to it.  I usually just poke the center gently with my finger and when it is solid instead of mushy when you push it, it is done.

Enjoy my favorite taste (ok, one of 'em) of Autumn.




I'm linking up to: Modern Country Style's Fall in Love link party.

5 comments:

  1. Erin,
    I am going to try this recipe BUT substitute chopped dates for the chocolate chips....the first time I tasted pumpkin and chocolate together, my mouth just thought WRONG, but then I had a friend in Poway, CA give me some pumpkin date bread and I fell in love! I also have a pumpkin/orange bread recipe that blends a whole orange, rind and all,  It is perhaps more amazing. Let me know if you want the recipe....Love you and miss you. Kerry

    ReplyDelete
  2. Erin,
    I just thought of another cool baking tip I learned at BYU ED. WEEK from Chef Brad, an amazing whole grains chef on a BYU channel now.
    He shared a recipe for WONDER FLOUR which can be substituted for white flour in anything.
    It is equal parts spelt, brown rice, and barley. Substitiute 3 1/2 c. wonder flour for 3 cups white four.
    Spelt is alkaline, high in protein, the oldest grain however, about two times the cost of wheat.
    I like the alkaline, hi protein qualities. Just a thought.....

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Kerry,

    These are both great ideas. Dates would be really good, because they don't get bloated (like raisins)--they are velvety and sweet and rich when baked into things. Hmmmmm. I just might have to try it, even though I like the chocolate/pumpkin mixture. And I would also be interested to try the spelt/brown rice/barley flour. No one in my family has wheat sensitivities, but I try to branch out and eat a greater variety of grains. I'll let you know how it turns out when I give it a try. Thanks for your suggestions, and just for piping up. I miss you and your delicious yet healthful cooking! If you ever decide to write a cookbook, I am putting in a pre-order right now :). Oh, and I'd love the pumpkin/orange recipe. That sounds yummy! xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nice close up pic! Looks delicious (& the plate makes a cool conrast.) I'm going to try it out as muffins for our bake sale tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi (Katie, right? :) )

    Thanks for stopping by my blog today. That pumpkin bread is really good. I haven't tried it as muffins, but I'm sure it would turn out well. I just made banana bread into muffins, and it worked like a charm. Let me know what you think!

    --Erin

    ReplyDelete

Please feel free to comment. I love to read what other people think!