Pumpkin Chocolate Loaf

 

An Introduction

    Each year of my childhood, autumn brought many things: cooler weather, school, anticipation for the holidays, and perhaps most important, the return of my mother’s pumpkin bread.  Once October rolled around, my mom churned out loaf after loaf of her famous bread: perfectly moist, wonderfully spiced, just the right breakfast for chilly fall mornings.  After 18 years of the same fall-time tradition, one of the most bizarre parts of my transition to college this year was a sudden and severe lack of pumpkin bread.  Thus, this past fall, I gathered my own ingredients for the first time and set out to make my own batch of pumpkin bread.  With my roommate to help me, I got the keys to my dorm kitchen and began my work.  

    Halfway into preparation, my roommate posed an idea which changed my viewpoint on the recipe completely: why not add some chocolate chips?  With enough batter to make 10 loaves, I figured we might dare to make the recipe even better.  Therefore, I added half a cup of chocolate chips to half of my batter, we baked the bread normally, and anxiously awaited what was to come.

    After the loaves baked and cooled, we each cut ourselves a slice.  I was greeted with not only the taste of my childhood, but also a subtle extra layer of sweetness: the decadent chocolate.  From this point forward, I knew one thing: pumpkin bread would never be the same.

 

Supplies

10 mini aluminum foil pans [Can be bought at WalMart]

2 large mixing bowls

mixing spoons

Baker’s Joy

cookie sheet [optional]

gravy ladle [optional]

 

Ingredients

Dry:

3 c. white sugar

3 tsp. baking soda

3 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

3.5 c. all-purpose flour

Wet:

1 c. oil of choice [we use canola]

2/3 c. water

4 eggs [pre-beaten; slightly fluffy]

2 c. canned pumpkin puree

1 c. mini chocolate chips

Steps

Mix together white sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and all-purpose flour in a large mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl, thoroughly mix oil, water, eggs and pumpkin puree.  Adding in a cup of the dry mixture at a time, gradually mix the two bowls together.  After the dry mixture is well incorporated into the wet mixture, add in the mini chocolate chips.  Once mixed together, place the aluminum pans on a cookie sheet and grease the pans.  Using a gravy ladle, place the batter into the pans, leaving approximately ¼ of an inch at the top of the pans.  Place the pans into the oven and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of the loaf clean.  Wait 20 minutes for the loaves to cool and serve each slice with a pat of butter.