Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips
Today I published the third part of the journal that I kept when my husband and I went to Russia to adopt our daughter from an orphanage when she was five years old. I also included several pictures, and if you would like to check it out, click here:
To Russia For Love, Part 3
With our daughter Makayla in front
of St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow.
With Halloween just around the corner, I wanted to share a pumpkin recipe, and it just so happens that I had three different recipes for pumpkin bread I decided to see which one was the best, so I made all three of them. It turns out that each one had something different that I liked about it. I used the best part of each recipe, combined them together, and came up with this new recipe for Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips. One of the three recipes had a lot of spices in it (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves), and if you don’t know me by now, I love adding flavor to foods by using a lot of spices. Another recipe had the chocolate chips in it, and the third recipe was particularly moist because it had pudding in it.
The chocolate chips are a great addition, but they are optional. In fact, I noticed that you can taste the spices in the bread more when the chocolate chips are left out. It’s great either way!
Recipe by: Origin Unknown/Adapted by Winner Dinners
Makes 2 loaves
5 large eggs
1-1/4 cups oil
1 15-ounce can Libby’s pure pumpkin
2 3-ounce packages vanilla cook and serve pudding (not instant)
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons nutmeg
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)
Prepare two loaf pans (8-1/2 x 4-1/2) by greasing and flouring the bottoms only (not the sides). Preheat the oven to 325. Combine the first three ingredients in a bowl with a whisk. Combine the remaining ingredients except the chocolate chips in a separate bowl. Combine both mixtures scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure complete mixing. Stir in the chocolate chips. Divide batter between the two prepared loaf pans. Bake at 325 for about 70-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for at least an hour. Then carefully run a knife around the edges of the pans to loosen and remove the bread. Continue to cool.
What an incredible adoption story, I cannot wait to read more. You took me far away from my desk here in Ontario, Canada!
Lois, thanks so much for your comment. I’m glad you are enjoying our adoption story. I’ve been wanting to do something with that journal for a long time, but I wasn’t really sure what to do with it. Funny that it ended up on my cooking blog.