From Mrs. Cog's Corner

Another household favorite that we were anxious to replace when going gluten free was our holiday chocolate chip pumpkin bread. It is our "go-to" traditional gift for kids' school teachers, co-workers, extended family members or anyone else we wish to bestow some holiday cheer upon.

After a few batches of experimentation, we were able to adapt our traditional recipe into a gluten free version that was equally delicious.

Preheat oven to 350 °

In a large bowl combine:

2 ¾ cups of sugar ¾ cup of vegetable (we now use coconut) oil 3 eggs - mix together well

Then add to the mix:

3 ¼ cups of all purpose Gluten Free flour (we prefer Bob's Red Mill) ¾ tsp. baking powder 2 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. of each: nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice and ground cloves One can of pumpkin (approx. 30 oz.) - mix well

6. Add ½ cup of water and mix all ingredients until smooth

Here is where you can get creative: We add a 20 oz bag of dark chocolate chips (both Nestle and Hershey's brands are gluten free). You may prefer to add only a 10 oz. bag of chocolate chips. I prefer walnuts, but not everyone does so sometimes I will add them to a few special loaves at the end.

This recipe makes about 5 to 6 small loaves or two regular sized bread loaves. Remember with GF cooking to grease and flour your pans with gluten free flour.

Baking times vary dramatically with elevations and oven types. I find the small loaves are usually baked in approximately 50 minutes (with a convection oven at 3,000 ft.), but sometimes it has taken longer. The larger loaves bake for approximately 70 minutes, but check one after 60 minutes to gauge the baking time in your oven. After you determine the best baking time for each size you are baking, you may want to note it for future reference.

We have found these loaves freeze well, so after wrapping the finished product twice in foil, we mark the GF bread with a special colored ribbon so it is always easy to find in a few months when digging through the freezer for a special treat. Enjoy!