Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere!

This weekend, we (okay - I) went a little pumpkin crazy. I’ve been eagerly awaiting fall since…well, June, so it’s no wonder I have pumpkin on the brain. Over the weekend we purchased and carved pumpkins, and I baked an array of pumpkin goodies – Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin Pie and Pumpkin Bars.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Ingredients:

3 cups white sugar
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree (or you can make 15 oz of your own roasted pumpkin. For time/ease I used canned organic pumpkin puree)
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
4 eggs
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease/Pam your pans. (I use disposable pans so I can give them away and not worry about getting my dish back. This time I made 2 regular loaf pans and 5 mini loaf pans worth.)

2. In a large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, oil, water, and eggs. Beat until smooth. Blend in flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill 1/2 to 3/4 full. (I do mine at about 1/2)
3. Bake for time varies depending on your oven and pan sizes. I check it every 15 minutes until an inserted knife or skewer comes out clean. If you want to remove from pans, cool on wire racks before doing so.

Here is a picture of the finished product. It's not burnt, FYI. I sprinkled chocolate chips on top…and topped it with a little powdered sugar.

We also carved pumpkins, as I mentioned. I’m willing to bet you can guess which Newlywed Naslund made which pumpkin… ;) (In case you can’t…mine is the face, Ryan’s is the 7 legged spider.)

And yes - I'll post my Pumpkin Bar recipe later! :)