Amazing Pumpkin Bread with Milk Chocolate AND Dark Chocolate Chips

I know, it's another pumpkin recipe. Last week I posted a recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies with walnuts and sea salt, and now today I'm posting this recipe for pumpkin bread! I'm crazy for pumpkin. I also made a pumpkin smoothie recently & it was healthy and delicious. That might be the next recipe that I post. But if you're tired of the pumpkin recipes, maybe I can post a recipe for lentil and sausage soup, creamy cajun pasta, or thai squash soup. Or we can do more pumpkin....as long as there are no objections!

About this bread...it's pretty incredible. It's super moist and flavorful and full of chocolatey goodness. If you can, use the Guittard brand of milk chocolate chips. There is something extra special about these chocolate chips and they are my choice for this bread. If you can't find them, the bread will still be amazing with another brand. This pumpkin bread seemed to be a hit at the latest staff breakfast that was hosted by my department...it disappeared rather quickly. I also made it again the other night for a homeowners meeting that we had at our house, and the neighbors seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. At first I thought they were just being nice, but when I offered for them to take some extra home, they took me up on the offer to share with their spouse (or save for themselves)! I have another 2 loaves cooking in the oven right now. I just put them in, so I can't smell the deliciousness of the bread yet, but it definitely does fill the home with a wonderful aroma.  This bread is super easy to make and it taste great for several days. So if you were wondering what to do this Saturday evening, go make some pumpkin bread and enjoy it tomorrow!

Recipe for Amazing Pumpkin Bread with Milk Chocolate AND Dark Chocolate Chips

INGREDIENTS:
3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 tsp. of ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. of pumpkin pie spice
1/8 tsp. of ground cloves
1/4 tsp. of ground nutmeg
2 tsp. of baking soda
1/2 tsp. of salt
1 15 ounce can of pumpkin puree (about 2 cups)
4 large eggs
1 cup of vegetable oil
3 cups of granulated sugar
2/3 cup of water
1/8 tsp. of freshly grated ginger
1/2 tsp. of pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of milk chocolate chips (Guittard brand, if possible)
1 1/3 cups of semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
Butter and flour 2 large loaf pans or 3 smallish loaf pans. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, cloves, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. In a very large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, eggs, vegetable oil, sugar, and water and stir until well incorporated. Add in the ginger and vanilla extract and mix. Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and stir until ingredients are just incorporated. Pour in the milk chocolate and dark chocolate chips and fold into the batter.

Divide the batter among the loaf pans. Put the loaf pans into the oven and cook for about one hour, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Remove bread from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. Gently remove bread from pan and cut into desired sized pieces. Enjoy!

*Bread can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for about 5 days.

Recipe Adapted from: All Recipes - Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies with Walnuts & Sea Salt

It's funny, it doesn't even feel like Fall here right now. We have been in the 70s and 80s for the past week or so, and even though it's hot, all I want is pumpkin. I've been trying to stick to a diet of four main food groups -  pumpkin soup, pumpkin soda, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin cookies! I made these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies a couple weeks ago and enjoyed them thoroughly. I brought a plate of 8 cookies over to a friend and she said she and her father-in-law finished the plate in less than 30 minutes. She has been asking for the recipe, and I'm finally getting around to posting it! This week I also made a delicious pumpkin bread with chocolate chips for a staff breakfast. I liked it so much and didn't save any to keep at home for myself, so I think I'll have to make another loaf today. It will be my first time baking in my new General Electric oven, which was just delivered to my home and installed within the last 45 minutes! So exciting. Our fridge went out three weeks ago, and we ended up buying the new GE one, and we added the oven and microwave to the purchase. They are cute appliances. I never thought that appliances were cute before, but these really are. And I'm just really happy to have a fridge again - the mini fridge just doesn't cut it in my kitchen! So, hopefully I will be able to post the pumpkin bread recipe very soon, but for now, enjoy these cookies!

*These cookies are not as cakey as most pumpkin cookies, but they kind of have the consistency of a muffin, but crispier....if that makes any sense at all. But they are delicious, and that is all that matters*

Recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies with Walnuts and Sea Salt 

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of canned pumpkin
1 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
1 egg (optional)*

2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 tsp. of baking powder
1 Tbsp. of ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. of ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. of pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 tsp. of baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. of milk or cream
2 tsp. of pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips (semisweet or milk chocolate)
1/2 cup of coarsely chopped walnuts
Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling
Extra cinnamon, for sprinkling (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the canned pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg (if using). Whisk together until ingredients are well incorporated. In a smallish bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. In a very small bowl, dissolve the baking soda in the milk or cream and then add to the flour mixture and stir. Add the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture and stir well. Add in the vanilla extract, chocolate chips, and walnuts and fold in.

Use a cookie dough scoop to drop 1 - 1 1/2 Tbsp. of cookie dough onto a baking sheet. Press down each one with your hands a little to flatten.

Sprinkle each with a little bit of coarse sea salt and a little ground cinnamon (optional). Put baking sheet in the oven for 12 - 14 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then use a spatula to carefully transfer cookies to a cooling wrack.

You can store the cookies on a plate covered with foil at room temperature for several days, if they last that long.

*You don't need to use an egg for these cookies. The cookies will be a little less moist without the egg. I prefer the recipe with the egg, Greg prefers it without the egg!

Pumpkin Cookie Recipe Adapted from: All Recipes

Favorite Fall Recipes

Mmm - pumpkin pie with homemade whipped cream. 

Who is excited about the Autumn season? I know I am! It is definitely my favorite season of the year. I love the cooler weather, the colorful leaves, and the beautiful skies of Autumn. I also love some of the foods that are associated with Fall, like comforting soups and everything pumpkin. This post is a collection of some of my favorite Fall recipes. Tonight I made the curried pumpkin mushroom soup, and it was so delicious! I had intended to make a kobucha squash soup, but I could not make a cut into the squash - so after 10 minutes of trying I decided to go with the pumpkin soup. It was my first soup of the season, and I am excited to make some on this list in the next couple months and to try new recipes too. What is your favorite Fall recipe?

Favorite Fall Recipes

Soups/Comfort Foods

Italian Wedding Soup with homemade meatballs

The Best French Onion Soup in the World

White Chicken Chili Soup

Curried Pumpkin Mushroom Soup

Pumpkin Apple Soup 

Savory Kale and White Bean Soup with Homemade Croutons

Zuppa Toscana (kale, potatoes, sausage, tons of yummy flavor)

Sweet Potato Tacos (recipe courtesy of Paladar Restaurant Annapolis)

Butternut Squash Risotto 

Italian Wedding Soup with homemade meatballs. 

Breakfast/Desserts

Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal with Caramelized Bananas

The Best Pumpkin Pie with Homemade Whipped Cream

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Truffles

Baked Apple Oatmeal with Homemade Applesauce 

Perfect Pumpkin Ice Cream

Sweet Potato Custard

Perfect pumpkin ice cream.

So, there you have it! I can't wait to have a new fridge so I can start cooking up some of these amazing Fall recipes. Soon I'll have another dessert to add to the list - I made some yummy pumpkin cookies with chocolate chips, walnuts, and sea salt the other night. Recipe to come very soon! Happy Fall to everyone.

Quinoa Salad with Walnuts, Raisins, Apples & Feta (with Maple Balsamic Dressing)

I went a really long time without a home-cooked meal, but I finally had one on Thursday evening! Thursday's meal was good - we had some almond-encrusted salmon, quinoa salad, and toasted rosemary and sea salt bread. Home-cooked meals always taste delicious, but I think this meal tasted even better because I had gone for so long without one. There are many things preventing me from wanting or being able to cook much these days. First, I haven't had much time to cook between work and classes. Also, our refrigerator went out, so we are using a mini fridge until further notice, so there isn't much room for food. And, I went through a period of time where I did not want to be in the kitchen at all because smells bothered me too much - because I'm pregnant (due March 28)! I started feeling better the past few days and I felt inspired to cook again. I bought some already prepared salmon and bread, and I made the quinoa salad. I came across the quinoa salad recipe on Clean Eating and I thought it sounded pretty good. I used raisins instead of dried cranberries and walnuts instead of pecans, and I added apples and feta to the salad. It made a great side to the salmon! For the dressing, I used a pecan praline balsamic vinegar that I bought that Cleo's in Annapolis. It added such an amazing flavor, but I'm sure regular balsamic would be amazing too. If you want to make it vegan, leave out the feta! This quinoa salad is easy to make and it is tasty & healthy! Enjoy.

Recipe for Quinoa Salad with Walnuts, Raisins, Apples & Feta (with Maple Balsamic Dressing)

INGREDIENTS:
1 3/4 cups of quinoa, rinsed well
3 Tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp. of balsamic vinegar (I used pecan praline)
3 Tbsp. of pure maple syrup
1 cup of raisins
1 cup of chopped walnuts
1/8 tsp. of sea salt
6 - 12 Tbsp. of crumbled feta cheese (optional)
2 Ginger Gold or Golden Delicious Apples, diced

DIRECTIONS: 
Cook quinoa according to package directions. While quinoa is cooking, mix together the olive oil, maple syrup, and balsamic vinegar and whisk until incorporated.

Once quinoa is finished cooking, transfer it to a bowl and allow it to cool completely. Place the raisins and walnuts into a large bowl. Pour in the cooled quinoa and stir. Pour the maple balsamic dressing over the quinoa and stir until it is fully absorbed. Stir in the salt. Cover the bowl and put it in the fridge for 1 - 2 hours.

Divide the quinoa amongst 6 dishes. Top each with the apples and feta. Sprinkle with some freshly ground black pepper, if desired. Serve as a side or eat it for a light lunch!

Recipe Adapted from: Clean Eating

Other quinoa recipe ideas: Sweet Potato, Black Bean, Corn & Quinoa Patties, Crustless Quiche with Quinoa, Kale & Peppers, CPK-Style Quinoa Salad with Arugula, Vegan Wraps with Quinoa & Chickpeas, Quinoa, Corn & Black Bean Wraps