Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Loaf

This bread was a hit. When the autumn leaves start glistening with oranges, reds, and golds and the weather turns a bit chilly, something inside me just starts craving pumpkin. The beauty of this bread, however, was that the pumpkin flavor was not overwhelming, and even if you're not a pumpkin fan this sweet bread is worth a try. Simple, quick, easy and satisfying, all factors that make a winning recipe in my book.

Here's the scoop: I halved the recipe and made only one loaf since I was short on eggs, but it's a perfect-sized recipe to make and take one to a friend. I went a bit heavy on the chocolate chips, I guess I feel like each bite should include at least a few of those tasty morsels. My family seemed happy with the chocolate to pumpkin ratio, but if you don't love extra chocolate, stick with the recipe. The pumpkin flavor was lighter than I expected, which was still delightful but I might try adding a bit more pumpkin in next time to add a little pizzaz. And the blend of spices was just perfect for our tastes, not overly 'spicy' as my husband says; sometimes pumpkin recipes include a heavy dose of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, but this was just right for us. This is a very easy and versatile recipe - if you prefer more or less seasonings, pumpkin flavor, or chocolate chips, I think you can tweak the recipe to your taste and still end up with a tasty sweet bread.

The crumb of this bread is very moist, tender and soft. Unfortunately, even though I removed the bread from my oven 20 minutes early, my crust was still just a tad overcooked for my taste, but our oven runs hot and is quite finicky. The bread still turned out fine, but I prefer a very soft, smooth crust. Your ovens probably all behave normally, but I'd recommend keeping an eye on the bread in the last 10+ minutes of baking, just to check. If you slightly overcook it, as I did mine, the crumb was still very tasty and moist, so it's hard to ruin. Overall, I'm not sure this is the one and only pumpkin bread recipe I will ever use, but everyone was pleased and I'll definitely be making this again, perhaps even in muffin form. This pumpkin loaf is a great basic recipe to be adjusted as desired, very easy, and a perfect addition to the flavors of fall!