Have I ever mentioned that Autumn is my favorite season? I love the smells, the crunchy leaves, blah blah blah (I’ll stop because I think I started another recent post this way. haha!

Anyway, this is one of those autumnal foods that I love so much. Chocolate chip pumpkin nut bread. It’s called bread but it’s really like cake. Like pumpkin spice cake filled with deliciousness. It’s incredibly moist and well, just tasty.

First you start your oven preheating – 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Then dump a can of pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie mix) into a biiiiig mixing bowl.

Cover your pumpkin with 3 cups of white sugar.

Drizzle in 1 cup of vegetable oil (don’t freak out… this makes a LOT). I’m sure you could sub applesauce for some of it. I just haven’t tried that yet in this particular recipe.

And plop in 4 eggs. And also 2/3 cup of water.

Give it a nice stir until everything is incorporated.

Now’s the exciting part! Start adding spices. This is 1 Tablespoon of cinnamon, 1 tablespoon of nutmeg, and a sprinkling of ground cloves.

Add 3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour. I’m sure some people like to add/mix/add/mix… but I just dump it all in there. Also, you’ll need 2 teaspoons of baking soda and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt.

And mix, but not too much. Just like overmixing will kill most muffins, it’s generally not a good idea in stuff like this either.

See? There are still lumps, but I stopped.

Dump in about 1 cup of miniature chocolate chips. I didn’t have a cup…

So I also added some dark chocolate (regular-sized) chips. I do prefer the mini ones in this “bread” but if I’m gonna have big chips, they’d better be dark chocolate for my pumpkin!

Sprinkle in half a cup of chopped nuts. I usually use walnuts, but this time I used pecans.

And then I decided half a cup wasn’t enough, so I dumped in some more.

Transfer your batter into prepared (greased/floured – or Pam with Flour sprayed) pans. I used one of these rectangular casserole dishes…

And one of these round cake pans. But this recipe will make 3 regular sized loaves (9×5), a lot of mini loaves, or a TON of muffins. Or… countless mini muffins.

Bake for about an hour, but adjust your time for whatever pans you’re using… mini muffins will cook much faster, obviously. A toothpick inserted (though not into a chocolate chip) should come out clean.

I didn’t have any other “after” photos from this particular batch, so here are some photos from the last time I made this yumminess… Isn’t this an attractive loaf? It would be a perfect gift for your child’s favorite teacher! (Honestly, we don’t all like apple-laden paraphernalia. Baked goods are usually a safe bet.)

Sooo moist and yummy. Just the right amount of spiciness to go with the sweetness.

And so you can make it without going cross-eyed…

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Nut Bread Recipe

• 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
• 3 cups white sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup water
• 4 eggs
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 Tablespoon nutmeg
• Sprinkle ground cloves
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup miniature chocolate chips (or dark chocolate chips)
• 1/2 cup (or more) chopped nuts – walnuts or pecans are great

1. Oven – 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Mix sugar, pumpkin, oil, water, eggs.
3. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves. Combine.
4. Blend in flour, baking soda, and salt.
5. Fold in chocolate chips and chopped nuts.
6. Fill greased containers about 1/2 to 2/3 full.
7. Bake for 1 hour, or as appropriate for your containers.