Thursday, October 30, 2014

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
2 cups canned pumpkin (or 1 can pumpkin)
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup fat-free vanilla pudding (or 1/2 cup buttermilk)
4 large egg whites
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips)

Instructions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  In large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, canola oil, fat-free vanilla pudding, and egg whites and stir well with whisk.
3.  In medium bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda.
4.  Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture stirring until just moist.
5.  Stir in chocolate chips.
6.  Spoon batter into 2 loaf pans coated with cooking spray.  
7.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes until wooden pick comes out clean.
8.  Cool 10 minutes.
9.  Remove loaves from loaf pans and place on wire rack to cool completely.
10.  Enjoy.

Mark's Notes - 
The recipe calls for 2 cups canned pumpkin.  I just used 1 15oz. canned pumpkin as 2 cups would be 16oz. and I wasn't going to open another can for the 1 extra ounce.

The recipe calls for 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips.  I used 3/4 cups dark chocolate chips.  This turned out really well and the chocolate did not overpower the pumpkin flavor.  Feel free to try this recipe using 1 cup dark chocolate chips.

I don't always have 1/2 cup fat free vanilla pudding in my refrigerator.  I made this a second time and substituted 1/2 cup buttermilk for the 1/2 cup fat free vanilla pudding.  Either way, it's really good.

Mark's Story - 
I have made pumpkin bread before.  I have a different recipe posted on my blog for a really good pumpkin bread from Cook's Illustrated.  I never thought to add chocolate chips to pumpkin bread because I didn't think it would blend very well.  Trish found this recipe online and tagged me in Facebook.  I decided to try it.  Our kids love pumpkin.  They loved the chocolate chip pumpkin bread.  They also love regular pumpkin bread.  Like I said, the kids love pumpkin.  This was a really simple recipe to make.

This recipe is from Cooking Light December 2004.
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chocolate-chip-pumpkin-bread