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
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 semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350* 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 4 mini loaf pans.)

In a mixer large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, oil, water, and eggs. Beat until smooth. Whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Add slowly to the wet mixture. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill each pan 1/2 to 3/4 full.

Baking 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.

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! :)