Hey, pals! I've been blog-absent for quite some time. The reasons are varied and predominately boring. Suffice to say, my head and my heart have been other places for the past few months. But I love this space. I love what I've been able to use it for, and I hope you fine folks who sometimes stumble across it do too. So here's me hopefully easing back into at least a semi-regular posting routine with a good ol' fashioned recipe.
Unless you're reading this long after I posted it (or unless you traveled back in time and are reading it before I posted it), it's October! If you're in a place with real weather, that probably means the air is getting colder, the leaves are changing, and the whole world is autumnal as hell. I say, "probably," because I'm in glorious San Francisco, where, "October," generally means, "layering in the morning, desperately stripping down in the afternoon, and keeping a hat and scarf in your bag for evening so you don't have to face living a life of regret."
But the great uniter for us all this month/season is: pumpkin. Apparently, it's really become a thing - pumpkin spice is the new [insert cultish food reference]. And I get it. All hipster trendiness aside, pumpkin and pumpkin-spice things are evocative - they create a full sensory experience. One that says, "Hey, get ready for shorter days, darker nights, and a bevy of gorgeous opportunities to bust out your favorite sweater/tie combos." Or maybe that's just me.
Part of the problem nowadays, though, is that the market is so oversaturated with products that are meant to harness our squasheriffic love. In all the excitement, it can be hard to separate the yays from the nays. That's why I'm going to spend a little bit of time this month highlighting some of my favorite things that feature pumpkins in a starring role - starting with the recipe after the jump!
Walnut Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
Fun fact, friends: pumpkin purees are generally super high in fiber and make a great addition to your baked goods, which is part of why recipes that utilize actual 100% pumpkin are way preferable to those that only call for pumpkin spices and flavorings.
This recipe was adapted from Candice Kumai's, "Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Loaf," which can be found in her book Clean Green Eats. I made a few baby changes, most notably adding walnuts and swapping out the butter for soy-free Earth Balance vegan butter to keep it dairy-free.
Please do note, however, that this recipe is not vegan - it does call for two eggs. I don't have an oil/egg substitute ratio for this guy yet, which is why I haven't included a vegan alternative option on the ingredient list. If you find one, let me know and I'll add it in.
But rejoice - there are gluten free, soy free, and nut free notes on the list!
Ingredients
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter/vegan butter, softened
1/2 cup packed organic light or dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cups (15 oz.) pure pumpkin puree
2 Tbsp. unsweetened almond or other non-dairy milk
1 3/4 cups all purpose or gluten free flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. aluminum-free baking powder
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips*
Optional: About 1/2cup-1cup roughly chopped walnut pieces (I eyeballed it)
*If you're a soy free pal, then you probably know it's sadly borderline impossible to find chocolate chips that don't contain some kind of soy-based emulsifier. There are a few options out there, but if you can't get ahold of any, skip the chips. The bread is still great and will not suffer.
Pre-heat your oven to that magical baking temperature of 350 degrees F. If you're a fancy person, line an 8x4 loaf pan with parchment paper and spray it with cooking spray. If you're a heathen like me, skip the parchment paper and just grease or spray your pan directly.
In a large bowl, whisk together your brown sugar and butter, then add the eggs in one at a time. When those buddies are all combined, add the pumpkin puree and almond milk. Set aside.
Take a medium bowl and stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Fold your dry ingredients into the wet ingredients a portion at a time using a rubber spatula until everybody has been well integrated into the party. Once you've done that, repeat the folding process with your chocolate chips and/or walnuts. The end result should have the consistency of batter, not dough.
Pour your batter into the 8x4 pan. Smooth the top with your spatula or the flat of a butter knife and pop it in the oven for about 40 minutes. Check the center with a knife or toothpick - if it comes out clean, you're good.
Pro-tip: it can take a little longer for all that pumpkin to bake through - my first go on this, I followed the time given in the recipe exactly and, even though my toothpick came out clean, there was a spot a bit left of center that was still very underdone. Fortunately, I was able to pop it back in for another 15 minutes or so and it all worked out. Test a couple spots with your knife/toothpick instead of just the center and add on to your bake time in 5-10 minute increments if need be until you find what works for you.
Your end result will be a dark on the outside, slightly fluffy on the inside loaf of pure autumnal delight. Spread a wee bit of butter - vegan, pumpkin, or otherwise - on a slice if you're feeling extra crazy, cozy up with your favorite werewolf movie (just me?), and fall it up, my friends!
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