Fall is finally upon us and with it has come a resurgence of seasonal admiration for pumpkin-flavored treats. There is no shortage of recipes for pumpkin spice cakes, coffees and creamers, but even with the market so flooded with gourdy deliciousness, there is but one ultimate recipe that can reign supreme.
This idyllic snack is the pumpkin chocolate chip bread recipe that my mother co-opted from a neighbor’s collection of cookbooks in 2004. It has become a yearly staple in my own household, and even made it into my second grade class recipe book back in 2007 in muffin format — the year everyone went as Hannah Montana for Halloween. So don’t worry, the loaf has been taste tested by many outside my own family.
So, without further ado, here is the recipe for the best pumpkin food of the entire fall season. It is presented to you in almost the same format it was presented to my second grade class, and I promise if you follow the steps even somewhat close to their proper order, you will not be disappointed with the results.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
1 stick of butter
2 eggs
1 cup of pumpkin puree
1 2/3 cups of flour
1 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Melt your butter and set it aside to cool for about 10 minutes.
- Line a loaf tin with parchment paper or grease and dust the tin with flour.
- Mix the eggs and pumpkin together in a bowl and stir until they are well blended. You can mix with a spatula — there is no need for a hand mixer or whisk.
- In a second bowl, mix all the dry ingredients — minus the chocolate chips — together.
- Add butter to the egg and pumpkin mixture and mix it until it is well combined. Then add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients slowly, stirring as you add. Throw in the chocolate chips and evenly incorporate into the batter.
- Fill the tin with batter and bake for about 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick stuck into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
Of course, because this loaf is a tradition in my family, I let my mother know that I was planning on sharing her recipe with my fellow Hoos. She wanted to make sure that you all got the best possible version of this treat, so she offered up several substitutions to better specify them to your personal tastes.
The first option is this — if you like your pumpkin treats fragrant and on the sweeter side, add in a teaspoon of vanilla. The second option, for those who prefer a richer chocolatey flavor, is to swap out semi-sweet chocolate chips for dark chocolate chips. It may seem like a subtle change, but it can affect the flavor by a surprising amount. Lastly, for those of you looking to make a lower fat option, substitute applesauce for the butter.
All of these substitutions have been tested and approved by me, so have no fear, they are successful. That being said, the best substitution I can offer is not actually in the composition of the recipe, but rather in its form. Invest in a ghost or pumpkin-shaped muffin tin instead of baking it as a loaf and see how much better this pumpkin chocolate chip dish tastes when shaped like a mini spirit or gourd.
This is a super fun and incredibly easy recipe for anyone to make. I personally baked this dish in an afternoon and was able to clean the kitchen from my post-baking disaster mess in under an hour. This dish tastes like a warm hug or a cozy blanket, and slices can be eaten at breakfast, as an afternoon snack or as a late-night treat.
There is literally no reason not to try these out, and there is almost no way to mess them up. So go forth and bake, my collegiate peers.
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