Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

In case you were curious, exhaustion due to cooking and baking is definitely a thing. I cooked and baked for approximately three hours last night, because that's what you do when you have a free Friday night, apparently, and by the end of it, I was worn out, and feeling pretty overheated. Along with two batches of my banana-oatmeal-almond butter muffins, a pan of my chicken and vegetable pineapple dish, a pan of my pork and vegetable pineapple dish, and a batch of Reese's-stuffed cookies, I also came up with a brand new recipe that really fits into the fall theme - peanut butter chocolate pumpkin bread, as you could probably guess from the title of this post. I love all things pumpkin, and I really love all things peanut butter and chocolate, so you know this is going to be a good one. I was perusing my Pinterest boards, as per usual, and I came across this recipe for the bread, and I decided to modify it to make it just a little bit healthier, though it was already pretty healthy to begin with.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup nonfat greek yogurt [plain]
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree, from the can
• 4 egg whites
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 banana
• 1 1/2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice [or a combination of cinnamon and nutmeg]
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup coconut flakes
• 1/4 cup flax seeds
• 1 cup [dairy-free] chocolate chips, divided

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Combine greek yogurt, pumpkin puree, egg whites, and peanut butter in a bowl, and whisk until free of lumps

3. Add in banana, stirring until smooth

4. Sift in flour, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice, stirring until combined

5. Add coconut flakes and flax seeds, or any mix-ins of your choice [raisins, walnuts, pecans are all good options]

6. Pour in 3/4 cup chocolate stops and stir until combined

7. Put the mixture in a pre-sprayed pan and sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top

8. Cook for 35 minutes and enjoy the delicious pumpkin-y smell invading your kitchen

*This was supposed to be posted this morning before I left to go to San Antonio for the day, but some Internet malfunctions did not allow me to post it until my return just now. The positive side of that is that I got to actually taste the bread, and not to brag on my own baking skills, but it was delicious. I hope your Saturday was a great one!