chocolate chip pumpkin bread

today we kicked off our fall baking season with a favorite: chocolate chip pumpkin bread. it really feels like autumn today. yesterday morning i finally felt a fall chill in the air, and it was sunny, but windy all day, which blew in a wonderful thunder and lightning storm last night.

this morning we woke up to gray skies. awe, my favorite kind of day. this wonderful gloomy weather seems to be lasting all day and it feels cool out and has been raining off and on. dreary days like this are a rarity in albuquerque, so we all treasure it when we get one. and, of course, baking just calls out to me on a day like this. and now that it's fall, we simply must start making pumpkin everything! so, first up, dinah (and charlie) and i made this mostly healthy and very delicious chocolate chip pumpkin bread. i can't remember where i originally found the recipe, but i've tweaked it here and there anyway, so i won't bother with crediting the recipe this time. it's very low in sugar, moist, and full of all the heavenly fall spices like nutmeg, cloves, and ginger.

chocolate chip pumpkin bread

1/3 c. avocado oil
1/2 c. honey (we only used a 1/4 c this time and it was fine)
2 eggs
1 c. pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c. almond milk
1 and 3/4 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice or cloves
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
1/2 c. chocolate chips

preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease a 9x5 loaf pan. mix together wet ingredients until thoroughly combined. in a separate medium sized bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients. add to wet mixture and beat on low until thoroughly combined. finally, stir in chocolate chips and nuts. pour batter into the prepared pan. generously sprinkle pumpkin pie spice on the top and swirl into the batter to create a marble effect. bake for 55-60 minutes. let it cool in the pan for about 30 minutes before cutting.

pumpkin bread, pumpkin latte

it's pumpkin season

it's autumn, finally! it's october, thank goodness! it's my favorite time of year - the season of pumpkin everything! i forced myself to wait for october, but this weekend, after a visit to the mountains and the botanical gardens to take in some of the already turning leaves, dinah and i made pumpkin bread.

we've been waiting all year for this. it was even a healthy pumpkin bread! it was so moist and delicious and very sweet, even without white sugar.

honey maple pumpkin bread

3.5 c whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking soda

1.5 tsp salt

2 TBS pumpkin pie spice

1 15 oz can organic pumpkin puree

4 eggs

1/2 c melted butter

1/2 c melted coconut oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 c raw organic honey

1/2 c real maple syrup

2/3 c unsweetened applesauce

1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

preheat oven to 350 degrees. prepare two loaf pans. mix dry ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl. combine eggs, pumpkin puree, butter, oil, vanilla, honey, maple syrup, and applesauce. once combined add in dry ingredients. mix until combined, then add chocolate chips and gently stir in with a spoon. pour batter evenly into both loaf pans. bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. let cool before serving.

~~~

as the aroma of baking pumpkin goodness wafted through my home, i wanted nothing more than a starbucks pumpkin latte to sip on as we waited. i know, i know, i guess i'm one of those typical white girls who loves fall. i wear yoga pants, take photos of my feet standing on leaves, and i really love pumpkin spice lattes, but i don't love all the icky stuff that goes into your typical fall latte. so, i made my own!

pumpkin spice latte

2 cups steamed milk

2 TBS organic pumpkin puree

1 TBS sugar

1 TBS vanilla extract

1 cup hot strong coffee

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

combine milk, puree, and sugar. heat until very warm, but not boiling. remove from heat add hot coffee, vanilla, and spice. makes three cups. yummm!

see? a photo of my feet...on leaves. happy fall!

healthy zucchini bread

with its cool crisp mornings and hot afternoon rain showers, late summer also brings a bounty of zucchini. the end of summer is one of my favorite times of year. not just for all the squash, but for the turning of the seasons and the relief and comfort that brings me. i can still enjoy the easy-breezy feeling of summer, but the days are growing shorter and less stifling and the nights are becoming cooler and more quiet.

with the abundance of zucchini, dinah and i have been cooking and baking with it often. we made skinny chocolate muffins last week (that were just meh, so I didn't keep the recipe), and we made calabacitas, minestrone, and ratatouille earlier this month as well. this week though, we made my favorite: zucchini bread. there are a million zucchini bread recipes out there and it's a bread that's pretty difficult to screw up, but following our trend of healthy snacking this summer, i found a healthy, but also delicious and very moist zucchini bread recipe. it turned out great. i got the recipe here, but made a few changes, like using less honey and adding extra cinnamon and a handful of chocolate chips.

healthy zucchini bread

1 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon (mine were heaping, i really like cinnamon)
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/2 c. plain whole milk yogurt
1/4 c. coconut oil
1/4 c. organic raw honey
2 TBS brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. grated zucchini, be sure to squeeze ALL the water out
1/4-1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8x4 inch loaf pan. in a large bowl, combine flours, and other dry ingredients. in a different bowl, whisk the egg into the yogurt, then mix in oil, honey, brown sugar and vanilla. add in grated zucchini, then fold in flour mixture. once combined, throw in a handful (or two) of chocolate chips. pour into prepared pan. bake for 45-60 minutes. mine took an hour and ten minutes, or so. just bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. remove bread from the pan and let it cool on a wire rack. apparently, there are only like 150 calories per slice, so eat up!