Marion’s Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips
2 LOAVES
PREP TIME: 15-20 MINUTES
COOK TIME: 50-55 MINUTES
TOTAL TIME: 65-75 MINUTES + 45 MINUTES COOLING
Marion Martignetti, who lives in Hingham, Massachusetts, has been baking this pumpkin bread religiously since her children were in high school. It was the snack she brought to sporting events, and she thanks Marilyn Cheney, a teacher at Milton Academy, for first sharing the recipe. I first tasted this bread in Nashville at Marion’s cousin Judy Wright’s home. What I love about this pumpkin bread recipe is that it is different from the norm. It has a generous amount of spices and those flavors play well with the chocolate chips. Plus, the bread has a lot less sugar than many pumpkin breads, and you don’t miss it.
This recipe is one of my favorites from my new cookbook – Anne Byrn Saves the Day.
- Vegetable oil spray, for misting the loaf pans
- 4 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus flour for dusting the loaf pans
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly mist two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans with vegetable oil spray and dust them with flour. Set the loaf pans aside.
- Place the eggs, sugar, and oil in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed to combine, then increase the speed to medium and beat until thickened and the mixture doubles in size. Add the applesauce and pumpkin and beat on low speed until just incorporated.
- Place the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger in a separate bowl and stir to combine. Stir in the chocolate chips. Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and beat on low speed until the flour is well combined, 30 to 45 seconds.
- Spoon the batter into the 2 prepared loaf pans and smooth the tops. Bake the loaves until they test done, 50 to 55 minutes; when you press the tops of the loaves lightly with your finger they will feel firm.
- Let the loaves rest in the pans on a wire rack to cool for about 15 minutes. Then, run a knife around the edges of the pans, loosen the loaves by gently shaking them, and turn them out, placing the loaves right side up on the rack to finish cooling for about 30 minutes before slicing.
- Do Ahead: The pumpkin bread loaves freeze beautifully for up to 6 months. Wrap them in aluminum foil and place them in plastic freezer bags. Let thaw on the kitchen counter for about 2 hours.