Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Tis the season for pumpkin, right? Pumpkin spiced donuts, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin pie and of course pumpkin bread. Addie came home from extended day with pumpkin bread this week and it was gone before dinner so I took that as a sign that we needed to get baking. Thank you to Ambitious Kitchen for the inspiration and starter recipe. As is true of most of her recipes, it delivers!

NOTE: If you have veggie adverse kids or picky eaters, swap out the zucchini for yellow summer squash. That was my swap the first time I made this and it was a hit. My second round, muffins with zucchini instead of summer squash, didn't pass the test with Ms. Picky who objected to the little green flecks in it. Taste be damned, there were green things! ;) Ahhh, the joys of parenting!

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of cloves
pinch of ginger
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup shredded zucchini, squeezed of excess moisture
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon olive or coconut oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger.

3. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, zucchini, honey, oil, egg, and vanilla until combined and smooth. Whisk in the almond milk. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until just combined. 

4. Gently fold in chocolate chips, reserving a few for sprinkling on top. 

5. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 10-15 minutes, then remove bread from pan and transfer to wire rack to finish cooling.

NOTE: If making muffins, they take about 20-25 minutes. Same tip - cook until toothpick comes out clean.