FOODIE WEEK - PUMPKIN BREAD WITH CREAM CHEESE

Hello. Hello!  Happy Weekend to ya!

I am so happy to share another favorite foodie item of our household.  In fact, it's the recipe I write down to take to bridal showers when they ask for a recipe.  The reason?  It's versatile!  It can be breakfast.  It can be dessert.  It can be a snack.  And let's face it, if not watched carefully, an entire loaf can disappear from the plate VERY quickly as a meal. 

That's right!  It's pumpkin bread.  The bread you tell yourself can be good for you because it has pumpkin in it.  Ummm... yeah, sure.

I have always loved pumpkin bread and, until I got married, I enjoyed it whenever my Mom made it.  Then, one of my friends told me a secret to the best pumpkin bread ever.  Ready?  A bag of Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Chips!!  Oh lordy, she changed my pumpkin bread forever!  After that, it became the most given gift to those we love. 

This is the pumpkin bread recipe I use.  I do not add the raisins or the nuts though.  However, here's the rule with the chocolate chips per my friend.  Use all the chips in the bag except for 2 palmfuls.  Why?  So you can finish them yourself, of course. 

Today, I decided to change up my recipe a bit more.  Just to see what would happen.  I have been seeing many pumpkin and cream cheese breads on Pinterest, sooo I had to try it.  I pinned this one from Tanya at SundayBaker forever ago.  It just looks so yummy. 

I didn't follow her recipe exactly; I used my Betty Crocker one above and made cream cheese filling from 1-8oz. package of cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 eggs and about 2 tbsp. of flour. 

Here's what it looked like before I baked it.  (Please forgive the look of my pans, they are WELL used around here.)

I put half the batter in both pans, added the cream cheese mixture, and then added the other half of the pumpkin bread mixture on top of that.

I baked it for about 55 mins at 350 degrees.

Here's the finished loaf

I could not wait to cut into it!  I wanted to see if the inside looked cool.  It was torture letting it cool.  My finished product turned out to be pretty and super tasty too!  The kids enjoyed it for dessert last night and breakfast this morning! 

What are you cooking up this weekend?  I hope you have a blessed one! 

P.S. Thanks Courtney - My Cup Runneth Over for YOU!!!