Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

What is it about pumpkin treats that we all love so much (and made me jump for joy when I saw a 3-pack of huge cans of pumpkin puree for sale at Costco recently)?

Anything pumpkin is super comforting. It helps us welcome the chill in the air of the perfect Autumn day and get us through the dog days of Winter. But is is the pumpkin that we all like or all the other things that come along with pumpkin treats, namely the spices? I think it’s all about the spices – cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, all spice. They warm up the insides of our mouths and when they reach our bellies, make up feel all warm and cozy.

That’s exactly what you will feel after your first bite of this bread (which is really a cake in disguise and an excuse to have cake for breakfast). The cinnamon and nutmeg give it just the right amount of spice and the chocolate chips are the “icing on the cake”.

I’ll keep this post short and sweet so that you can gather up your ingredients and make this beauty. Most of you will need it this weekend. As mother nature is finally getting her act together and bringing us some winter temperatures.

Enjoy (and stay warm).

Ingredients:

Yield: 3 Loaves

• 3 cups white sugar;
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree;
• 1 cup vegetable oil;
• 2/3 cup water;
• 4 eggs;
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract;
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour;
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon;
• 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg;
• 2 teaspoons baking soda;
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt;
• 1 cup dark chocolate chunks.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees spray the inside of three 9×5 inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, oil, water, vanilla and eggs. Add the flour mixture and mix until all the dry ingredients are incorporated. (Do not over mix.) Fold in chocolate chips.
4. Bake for 1 hour, or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Cool on wire racks before removing from pans.