Pumpkin Lovers Unite! You either love pumpkin desserts or you don’t. This time of year makes me think of pumpkins so I felt compelled to make something. I am not a pumpkin fan but as Thanksgiving nears, I like to fantasize about pumpkin treats as if I were a fan. My tiny slice of pumpkin pie must be buried in a pile of whip cream for me to take the pumpkin plunge. Guess you can see why I added the chocolate to the bread! One of the girls I work with happens to love pumpkin and it is her birthday on Friday so that was all the reason I needed to whip up a little pumpkin bread with a fancy, festive holiday flair to it. Happy birthday Kim!
It just so happens it is healthy too! Chocolate…..Healthy, oh yes! Chocolate is very healthy for you. Just when you were thinking Death by Chocolate we find it is really Health by Chocolate. Dark Chocolate, that is! Here are some of the benefits you can get by making a small amount of dark chocolate part of your diet:
A Healthier Heart ~ chocolate has cardiovascular benefits
Weight Loss ~ dark chocolate lessens cravings for sweet, salty, and fatty foods
Higher Intelligence ~ drinking cocoa rich in flavanols boosts blood flow to key parts of the brain for 2 to 3 hours
Source of Antioxidants ~ loaded with organic compounds that are biologically active and function as antioxidant
“Sun Screen” ~ flavanols from cocoa can improve blood flow to the skin and protect it against sun-induced skin damage
Chocolate Boosts Your Mood ~ Chocolate eaters report feeling less stressed
And if all this health wasn’t enough, this is a bread you can make in a snap. It’s Quick Bread! A bowl of wet ingredients and a bowl of dry ingredients, that you combine. Yep, it’s that easy! And it’s made with applesauce not vegetable oil. A dense, pumpkin flavored bread with little bits of chocolate in every bite….and a drizzle on top!
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a bundt pan or two 9 x 5 inch loaf pans.
In a medium mixing bowl combine the flour, soda, salt, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and pumpkin pie spice. Sift so there are no lumps and stir to combine.
In a large bowl combine the applesauce, eggs, pumpkin, brown sugar and water. Mix wet ingredients together.
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture, stirring to combine just until dry ingredients are moist.
Stir in nuts and 1/2 cup of chocolate chips.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Slap it in the oven!
Bake until tester inserted in the center, around the bundt pan, comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes.
When bread is cool, melt the remaining chocolate chips with tablespoon or so of cream in the microwave for 30 seconds, until chocolate is thin enough to drizzle from fork tines. Using a fork, lightly drizzle the melted chocolate over the bread.
Drizzle the chocolate over the bread on your cutting board and then lift from the underside onto your serving plate. It will look so much nicer and much less of a mess to clean up!
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups applesauce
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 4 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips, divided
- 1 -1 1/2 tablespoons cream
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a bundt pan or two 9 x 5 inch loaf pans.
- In a medium mixing bowl combine the flour, soda, salt, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and pumpkin pie spice. Sift so there are no lumps and stir to combine.
- In a large bowl combine the applesauce, eggs, pumpkin, brown sugar and water. Mix wet ingredients together.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture, stirring to combine just until dry ingredients are moist.
- Stir in nuts and 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Bake until tester inserted in the center, around the bundt pan, comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes.
- When bread is cool, melt the remaining chocolate chips with tablespoon or so of cream in the microwave for 30 seconds, until chocolate is thin enough to drizzle from fork tines. Using a fork, lightly drizzle the melted chocolate over the bread.
- Drizzle the chocolate over the bread on your cutting board and then lift from the underside onto your serving plate. It will look so much nicer and much less of a mess to clean up!
- You can also lightly dust the pumpkin bread with powdered sugar instead of the chocolate drizzle.
Now we’re talking, yum. yum. yum.
Looks like the best of my sweet tooth worlds!