Guest Post: Pumpkin Bread

I'm away on a cruise right now, and I've asked some of my favorite local bloggers to write guest posts for me. First up is Daisy. We all say that Daisy is the girl any of us would love to go out with on a Saturday night. She's so much fun, always has the best nail polish on, and I'm so happy we met way back at Mystery Meet No. 1. I wanted to make this pumpkin bread at some point myself, so I was so excited to see that Daisy made it for her guest post here. I hope you enjoy her post! And please check out Daisy's blog too!

Hi Delicious Dishings readers! My name's Daisy and I blog over at Indulge Inspire Imbibe. While Megan is cruising around the Caribbean, I've been busy in my kitchen. (Actually, I might be in Florida right now, depending on when this post goes up... put it this way, I was busy in my kitchen and Megan is currently on a cruise!)

The recipe I am going to share with you comes courtesy of the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Cookbook. As many readers may already know, Megan and I traveled to the King Arthur Flour Baking Education Center in Norwich, Vermont, with a group of bloggers back in September. I was never much of a baker, but the confidence I received in the baking class + this incredible cookbook + lots of KAF swag bag flour = I've since been baking up a storm!

This recipe yields a moist and golden loaf, scented with cinnamon, clove and nutmeg spices and filled with chocolate chips, and the star baking ingredient of the season: Pumpkin!

Pumpkin Bread

Preheat the oven to 350*F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

2 cups (8 ounces) whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup ( 1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter
1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cups chocolate chips (you could also use raisins, dried cranberries or chopped nuts, or a combo of both!)

Whisk together the first 7 ingredients in a medium bowl.

Cream together the butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy.

Whisk in the eggs one at a time.

Whisk in the vanilla and pumpkin.

Add the dry ingredients, mixing until evenly moistened.

Stir in chocolate chips (or raisins, or cranberries or nuts. Go crazy!)

Pour the batter into prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool for 15 minutes, then run a butter knife around the edge of the pan, turn out the bread and place on a rack to finish cooling.

Happy Baking!!