Bake Sale crunch? Quick..... Bread

The day before the school bake sale I open my pantry, frig and cupboards with a slight panic in my stomach.
For those of you who have not experienced a the bake sale eve crunch, let me explain.
Making a treat for a school bake sale is not a simple matter of baking cupcakes and bringing them to school. There is an underlying social pressure to bring something amazing, creative and glamorous. It should be kid friendly, fun and eye catching. Of course this mortal terror of the 'mom competion' talking. My son doesn't care what I bake, he doesn't care if I bake. It's all about me.

So... here I am the day before the bake sale with no ideas looking for inspiration from my magic pantry. I thought about Spring and images of lovely delicate Pear and Lavender scones came to mind. But, there was no butter, no pears and only crunchy whole wheat flour. My visions of scones was smashed by some very bare pantry shelves. What could I do with no butter or shortening? I didn't want to use a nut butter as we are very nut allergy conscious here in Ontario. A quick bread my kitchen muse whispered in my ear.

According to "The Food Lovers Companion"
Quick Bread: Bread that is quick to make because it doesn't require kneading or rising time.  That because the leavener in such a bread is usually baking powder or baking soda, which, when combined with moisture, starts the rising process immediately. In the case of double acting baking powder, oven heat causes a second burst of rising power. Eggs can also be used to leaven quick breads. This genre includes most biscuits, muffins, popovers and a wide variety of sweet and savory loaf breads.

I had canned pumpkin, dark chocolate chips and whole wheat flour. Chocolate chip Pumpkin bread was the answer. This recipe came from my friend Tina.

3 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 c sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 c vegetable oil
4 eggs
2/3c milk
2 c mashed cooked pumpkin
3c extras like (walnuts, sunflower seeds, chocolate chips, raisins or other dried fruit)

Preheat oven to 350F

In large mixing bowl sift together all dry ingredients, then stir in the extras.
In a separate bowl whisk together oil, eggs and milk. Add in the pumpkin and stir until well blended.
Add the wet mix to the dry mix and stir until moist.
Pour the batter into 2 greased loaf pans (9 x 5 x 3) or greased/paper lined muffin tins.
Loaf Pans: Bake @ 350F for 1 hour or until golden brown and tooth pick comes out clean
Muffins: Bake @ 400F for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and tooth pick comes out clean

Well the bread was a hit. I sold one loaf at the sale and kept one loaf home for dessert the next day. We served it in thick pan toasted slices with Carmel ice cream.  A real treat!