Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Recently, I’ve gotten more into the whole “pumpkin spice” craze. I tried my first pumpkin spice latte this year, and it was pretty good. I see why so many people are obsessed with them. And I have tried a few other pumpkin flavored things. The pumpkin munchkins at Dunkin’ aren’t bad, and I tried some pumpkin spice cookies that were on sale at the grocery store. Gotta do my research, right? 😉

However, you will never see me eat a pumpkin pie. I’ve never enjoyed it. I think maybe it’s partially the texture of the pumpkin puree. I’m not sure. Give me all the pumpkin flavored things, but no pumpkin pie please. So I was a little nervous making this bread, as it contains pumpkin puree. And while I was mixing it in, I could smell the pumpkin. I thought for sure I wouldn’t like this. But, after being baked, it’s delicious!

It's also an easy bread to make. It's more like a cake, really. It has a batter that you can pour into the pan, as opposed to a dough that you have to knead. And no waiting for any dough to rise.

Start by preheating your oven to 350°F. Butter and line a loaf pan with parchment paper. By this, I mean, spread a little butter on the inside of the pan. It doesn't need to fully coat the pan. I just put a little bit on each side. Then, place a piece of parchment paper inside the pan, and form it to the bottom and sides. The butter helps to keep the parchment paper in place and prevent it from sliding around. Set your pan aside until ready to use.

Next, in a medium bowl, combine 1½ cups flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set your dry ingredients aside until ready to use.

Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until it's light and fluffy. Then add the eggs, and beat again until incorporated. Gradually add the flour mixture into the butter mixture, mixing between each addition until all ingredients are fully combined.

Then add the pumpkin puree, sour cream, and vanilla to the batter. Mix until well-combined.

Next take 1 cup of chocolate chips, and mixed them together with the remaining 1 tsp of flour in a small bowl. Mix them around until the chocolate chips are fully coated. Then stir the coated chocolate chips into the pumpkin batter. Coating the chocolate chips with flour prevents them from sinking to the bottom of the batter. This results in an even distribution of chocolate chips throughout the bread.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup of chocolate chips on top. You can use more or less chocolate chips, depending on your taste. I tend to prefer a lot of chocolate. Bake for 55-60 minutes, until you can insert a toothpick and have it come out clean.