Pumpkin Bread with Dark Chocolate and Walnuts
Cook Time 60 mins
Total Time 1 hour
In my pumpkin-palooza tests, I tried every type of pumpkin from roasting my own and making puree to testing all of the brands out there. I will never roast a pumpkin for baking again. The pulp was watery and did not have that concentrated flavor that I love. I also suggest staying away from pumpkin pie “filling” and instead only buy the Libby’s pure Pumpkin puree. I was told that the pumpkins are baked and processed within an hour of being picked and you can’t get fresher than that!
Ingredients
4 eggs
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup light brown sugar
1 can (15 oz) pureed pumpkin, preferably Libby’s
1 ¼ cups untoasted walnut oil
3 cups All-Purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 generous teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups dark chocolate chips
2 cups lightly toasted walnuts, plus more for decorating the top
1 cup dried cranberries, optional
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350° F
In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin, and oil until smooth. Whisk dry ingredients together. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips, walnuts and cranberries, if using.
Prepare 2 loaf pans by spraying with Baker’s Joy. Fill about 3/4 full with batter and drop on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles and make batter even. Decorate the top of the bread with walnut halves or a layer of chopped walnuts. Press them lightly into the batter before placing in the oven. Place loaf pans on a cookie sheet to make it easier to pull out of the hot oven.
Bake at 350° degrees for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool for at least 1 hour before slicing into thick chunks. This bread is also great toasted in the morning and spread with a little butter.