What's your favorite way to celebrate fall? I still have not brought out my boots or unpacked my fall sweaters, but I have brought out the canned pumpkin. The thing with canned pumpkin is that a can (or now there is pumpkin in easy-to-open cartons!) can go a long way. You can get creative with adding a little bit of pumpkin to this or that, and it generally turns out pretty tasty. Think pumpkin in your oats, swirl some pumpkin into soup, add a little to curry or a nice stew. In baked goods, pumpkin tends to keep things moist but it also lends a more cakey texture. Pumpkin cookies tend to be fluffier rather than crispier, and cakes with pumpkin tend to have just a lighter crumb.
This quick bread is perfect as a breakfast or as a snack because it is not too heavy or too sweet. I season it with some favorite fall spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice, and I love chocolate chips with pumpkin so could not resist throwing in some semi-sweet chocolate that I chopped from a bar. If milk chocolate is your thing, use that instead. It is a mix and dump sort of bread, but do not let it's ease fool you. It is tasty and will whisk you into fall, even if you are still wearing those flip=flops.
Do you have a favorite pumpkin bread recipe? Or another favorite pumpkin treat?
Chocolate Chunk Pumpkin Bread
1 1/2 cups spelt flour or whole wheat pastry flour (or a mix of wheat and all-purpose)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted, or vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey, preferably local or maple syrup
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup chocolate chunks of chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a loaf pan and line with parchment paper to create a sling that is easy to lift out.
Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl (flour through salt). Whisk wet ingredients in another bowl until smooth (eggs through pumpkin puree). Stir dry ingredients into wet until just mixed. Stir in chocolate chunks.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake on middle rack for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs stuck to it. Remove pan from oven and allow bread to cool for 10 minutes in pan. Remove from pan and allow to cool completely on wire rack. Slice and serve. Enjoy! Makes 1 loaf.
