PEANUT BUTTER PUNKIN TIME.
Peanut butter punkin with a baseball bat?
Happy Thursday, all! Weekend brunch is looking sunny side up with a loaf of Peanut Butter Chunk Pumpkin Bread on the menu.
Whether I share a new recipe of the like or not – I actually think I have for the past three years – I enjoy baking pumpkin bread every fall. Or, the time of year I pretend it’s fall despite my windows fogging up with the 98% humidity.
I brainstormed this recipe for a quick weekend bake after deciding to revisit later the treat I tested but ultimately felt I needed to improve. Ya’ll really can’t go wrong with pumpkin bread, especially when you stir in peanut butter and heaps of chocolate. Like an autumnal Reese’s cup in a pan.
Soft, spiced flawlessly, and gooey from the melted puddles of chocolate. I mean, look at them. Have you ever seen anything more beautiful?
Except maybe your own reflection, you hot piece of ass, you.
Loafing Around
Pumpkin bread is wonderfully simple. The hardest part is the long baking time, but trust me, doing chores with the scents of cinnamon and clove floating around the kitchen is oddly motivating. Makes me feel like I’m piddling about in a quaint cottage.
In a bowl, whisk together vegetable oil and brown sugar, then two eggs, one at a time until incorporated. Stir in the vanilla, pumpkin puree and creamy peanut butter.
Tip: Use a no-stir variety of peanut butter for the best texture. I like Jif or Skippy Natural, or any other “natural” but cohesive formula.
Add your flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. The batter will be nice and thick. Use a spatula to fold in lots of chocolate chips or chunks. I used a combination of both, the latter of which I created by chopping up a 70% dark chocolate bar.
Spread the batter into a greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Speckle with a few additional chocolate chips or chunks.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes. Start checking for doneness at 45 minutes. Once the skewer emerges with just a few moist crumbs (streaks of chocolate are likely, so take care to differentiate between raw batter and gooey chocolate), pull the loaf from the oven. Cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then carefully flip onto a wire rack, and flip again to upright. Cool an additional 30 minutes.
Tip: Run a knife around the edges of the loaf to loosen it from the pan before flipping.
Now, grab your jar of peanut butter or a hunk of salty butter, spread overtop a slice, and enjoy with a hot mug of coffee or tea as a reward from those tasks you completed while you (not so) patiently bided the time while your bread baked!
Leftovers? Pumpkin bread keeps well at room temperature for up to 5 days, in the fridge for a week, or the freezer for 3 months. I love warming up a slice in the microwave for 15-20 seconds to melt the chocolate. Mmm. If frozen, thaw a slice on the counter for 20 minutes before reheating.
Peanut butter alternatives? Try almond or sunflower butter! A cinnamon flavor of either would be spectacular.
Cheers and enjoy, friends!
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say in on Instagram and show me what you made!
Get punk’d:
Cream Cheese Swirled Pumpkin Bread
peanut butter chunk pumpkin bread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips or chunks, plus more for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with oil or butter.
- In a bowl, beat the oil and sugar until combined. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla, pumpkin puree, and peanut butter. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Fold in the chocolate chips. Do not overmix.
- Transfer batter to the prepared loaf pan, smoothing it as evenly as possible. Sprinkle additional chocolate chips/chunks atop. Bake for 50-60 minutes until the center is set and an inserted toothpick or skewer emerges with just a few moist crumbs.
- Let cool 20 minutes in the pan, then invert onto a wire rack. Flip upright. Cool at least 30 minutes, then slice and enjoy!
