Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
A moist and spiced pumpkin bread with chocolate chips and a crackly cinnamon sugar crust, and a bonus secret ingredient - maple extract!
Servings: 1 loaf
Prep time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 1 hour
Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes (not including cooling time)
Equipment:
See *Notes for more important tips/clarifications
Growing up, one of my favorite times of the year was our church’s annual bread baking around Thanksgiving. They’d offer a choice of banana bread, apple and nut bread, and my favorite: a pumpkin chocolate chip bread. I loved how the sweetness of the chocolate chips brightened up the muted sweetness of the pumpkin.
For my own version of pumpkin bread, I set out to create a moist and flavorful loaf where the fall spices really shine through. It has just the right amount of pumpkin and the perfect balance of spice to chocolate chips to complement the pumpkin. But the most important ingredient? The maple extract. Don’t skip it! It amps up the flavor of the pumpkin, and provides additional warmth that I think is key in rounding out all of the other flavors of the bread.
This Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread falls somewhere between the texture of a moist cake and a dense bread with a nicely browned crust on the outside. The layer of cinnamon sugar on top gives the bread additional crunch as well as a little extra sweetness and spice. In my opinion, the end piece is the best part. Bake it and your house will smell warm and cozy all day long!
*Notes
Key Ingredients:
Pumpkin Puree: I love pumpkin bread because the canned pumpkin puree not only provides natural sweetness, but moisture as well. My favorite brand is Libby’s because it’s pure pumpkin puree. Some canned brands of pumpkin out there are also mixed with other varieties of squash (butternut, etc) and buying Libby’s ensures you get 100% pure pumpkin!
Maple Extract: I love using maple extract in this bread and in my maple cookies because it provides so much warmth and maple flavor in a small concentrated amount. Using maple syrup to add maple flavor to desserts is okay in some instances, like in my Maple Apple and Pear Crisp. The extract works great for desserts like cookies and in this pumpkin bread when you want maple flavor but no extra liquid. In this bread, I think it really amps up the flavor of the pumpkin. Don’t skip it!
Buttermilk: Buttermilk adds additional liquid to keep this bread moist, and adds some tanginess to help contrast some of the sweetness.
Fall spices: after testing many (many) versions of this Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread, the amounts and combination of the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves I landed on in this bread was my favorite. I think they balance out the sweetness of the chocolate chips perfectly, and complement the pumpkin well.
Chocolate Chips: Feel free to skip the chocolate chips in this bread, but I love the flavor of chocolate and pumpkin together! If you haven’t tried this combination yet, I highly recommend it.
The Cinnamon Sugar topping: I knew I wanted some sort of topping for the pumpkin bread. I tested several versions of streusel but I always felt like they took too much away from the bread. I like the cinnamon sugar because it adds a nice layer of crunch and a bit more sweetness and spice, without distracting from the other flavors of the bread. You’ll only use half of it in this recipe, but you can use the rest to roll my snickerdoodles in, or as a topping on toast, bagels, oatmeal, apple fritters, overnight oats, and more!
Storage: Cover the bread with aluminum foil and store at room temperature for 3-4 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
How to Reheat: Reheat slices in the microwave for a few seconds if desired.
Pumpkin muffins! I initially tested this bread out as muffins, so I know it works great! This recipe will make 16 muffins. Simply line muffin trays with liners (or grease) and fill cups 3/4 of the way up with batter. Bake for 22-24 minutes at 350 °F until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Grease a 9 in x 5 in loaf pan and line with parchment paper with an overhang on two sides
Smooth the batter out in the pan
Sprinkle 1/2 of cinnamon sugar mix evenly on top before baking
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Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup (220 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/3 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (100 grams) light brown sugar
1/2 cup/1 stick unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 teaspoon maple extract
1/4 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
For the Cinnamon Sugar:
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 °F. Grease and line a 9 inch x 5 inch loaf pan and line with parchment paper with a slight overhang on two sides for easy removal later.
Melt the butter and set aside to cool while you complete the other steps.
For the cinnamon sugar topping, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl (like a real small one). Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt until combined.
In a large bowl, whisk the pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, brown sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla extract, maple extract, and buttermilk until combined.
Pour the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture and use a rubber spatula to gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet. It’s okay if a few flour streaks still remain because you need to mix in the chocolate chips.
Mix in the chocolate chips until incorporated. Don’t over-mix. It’s okay if the batter is a little lumpy.
Transfer the batter to the loaf pan and smooth it out into as even a layer as possible. Top with about half of the cinnamon sugar mixture (see *Notes for suggestions about what to do with the rest). Bake for 60-65 minutes, and begin to check around 55 minutes. Bake until a toothpick inserted into several spots of the bread (sides, middle) comes out clean (a few loose crumbs is okay).
Let cool completely (for about an hour at room temperature) on a wire rack before carefully removing and slicing. Enjoy!