It’s Fall…Let’s Bake with Chocolate and Pumpkin!

Happy Halloween! At our house, we are now in the throes (I had to look up how to spell that) of holiday baking season. This is evidenced by how much flour, sugar, canned pumpkin, and chocolate chips we recently purchased at Costco.

We absolutely love the combination of pumpkin and chocolate…it’s one of life’s great pairings. Two recipes that we absolutely love are, of course, from Taste of Home and I’d like to share them with you! Because you deserve good recipes without having to search through mountains of cookbooks, magazines, and Pinterest pins.

The first is Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins. These are easy and delicious. The only thing I do differently is add an extra teaspoon of cinnamon. I made a ton of them because Sam is having a breakfast potluck at his new job on Thursday morning. We’re very excited!

The second recipe is one of my all time favorites. Hands down one of the best deserts/snacks/breakfasts/anytime treats of Fall.

Taste of Home’s Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cake. Make this exactly as the recipe says for pure bliss. I love to bring it to gatherings, make it for fundraisers, or give it as a gift on a decorative plate. It’s great on its own, but if you wish you can drizzle it with a chocolate ganache after it cools. Look for the ganache recipe below the picture.

Chocolate Ganache 

1 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup heavy cream

Directions:

In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate and cream. Microwave on high 1 minute 10 seconds. NO MORE or it will get grainy.

Remove from microwave and stir with a STAINLESS STEEL SPOON. Yes, from your flatware drawer. Mix until combined and shiny. This should take about 30 seconds. Don’t over mix or your beautiful ganache will separate. Let it cool on the counter for about 10 minutes. Then drizzle on the cake if desired. Or just eat it with a spoon, dip in some fruit, marshmallows…you know what to do!

Happy Baking!