recipe: pumpkin bread

This season is synonymous with pumpkin. Head into Starbucks or your Pinterest page overflowing with delicious pumpkin recipes. We’ve shared some fun ones in the past — this pumpkin milkshake and these cute mini pumpkin pies, for example — and this one might be our favorite one yet. The recipe, adapted by food contributor Libby from an old Bon Apetit magazine, is very cake like and most, and not overtly sweet. Top it with cream cheese for a delicious brunch or breakfast on the go, or sweeten it up with more sugar on top, or powdered sugar. You can also make it into muffins (mini or regular), which I’m always doing with recipes since I absolutely have no portion control… especially this time of year!

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 1/2-1 3/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice {buy it, or see below for how to make}
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup canned pure pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

How to make your own pumpkin pie spice:

• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour one metal 9x5x2 1/2-inch bread pan, or a muffin tins. Mix first five ingredients together into medium bowl.

Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl. Gradually beat in sugar, then beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in pumpkin and vanilla. Beat dry ingredients into pumpkin mixture alternately with milk. Mix in chocolate and pour batter to prepared pan.

Bake pumpkin bread until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about one hour. If baking as individual muffins, check after 15 minutes.

Cool in pan on rack, about 15 minutes. Turn cake out onto rack and cool completely. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Wrap in plastic and store at room temperature.)

recipe adapted from Bon Apetit magazine// photography courtesy of libbyvision.com.