Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

On the first cool fallish day, both Nathaniel and I start craving pumpkin chocolate chip bread. I went looking for untraditional versions of the recipe and found a gluten-free, vegan cookie recipe. I didn't need it to be vegan.  I didn't particularly need it to be gluten-free, but I still had a shelf of non-gluten flours from a cookbook review project I had done, so I decided to make a version of it.  From the original recipe, I added an egg (no longer vegan) and used non-vegan butter for the fat. I went with coconut sugar instead of palm sugar, and used sugar-free chocolate chips.  By the time it was mixed together, it was too soft to form into cookies, so I baked it in a 9" square pan. I'd probably add an additional egg next time for better binding of ingredients, but I liked the texture afforded by the three different flours. I also always amp up the spices because I like them! If you want to try her recipe, go for it! But my take on it will be listed below.

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Ingredients

• ½ cup butter, melted, or vegetable oil
• ¾ cup palm sugar (or brown sugar)
• ½ cup canned pumpkin puree
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or some mixture cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves)
• ½ teaspoon EACH baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt
• ⅓ cup EACH tapioca flour, sorghum flour, brown rice flour
• ½ cup (or more) chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together the sugar with the wet ingredients.
3. Sprinkle in the cinnamon, baking soda, powder, and salt.
4. Continue with the flours.
5. Beat well, and then reduce the speed and mix in the chocolate chips as preferred.
6. Pour into a greased 9" square pan, or a round 9" cake pan.
7. Bake for about 20-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Pumpkin Protein Pancakes

I came across this recipe for pumpkin protein pancakes and made a version based on what I had in hand.  Follow the link for a slighty higher-sugar yet lower-fat version.

Pumpkin Protein Pancakes

• 2 scoops protein powder (I used unflavored but vanilla would be better)
• 1 cup pumpkin canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon (I used pumpkin pie spice, being out of cinnamon)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 jumbo eggs (could use 3 large eggs, 4 egg whites is what the original said)
• 1 cup oats
• 2 tablespoons milk (used almond milk)
• 3 packets Splenda (original recipe used 1 tbsp honey)
• 1 tablespoon butter

Blend all ingredients except butter in blender, scraping down sides. Batter is quite thick and may need to be spooned into the pan. Cook as you normally cook pancakes, using a bit of butter and non-stick spray for each.

I found that I had to really make sure the center was cooked, and those a bit darker on the outside were a bit better.

We had these with sugar free syrup.