If there's any one seasonal flavor people love to hate, it's gotta be pumpkin spice.

Come fall, the dynamic duo you once tasted only in pumpkin pie — and probably only at Thanksgiving — suddenly seems to dominate everything (and anything) from your morning latte to everyday products such as yogurt, hummus, pancake mix, hot sauce, Oreos and every imaginable snack food.

Yet if you're a fan, there's no denying the magic of pairing the sweet, buttery flavor of pumpkin with warm spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.

This homemade quick bread pairs those nostalgic fall flavors with everyone's favorite mix-in: semi-sweet chocolate chips. It's easy to stir together, doesn't require any fancy ingredients and, once baked, can be stashed in the freezer for later.

Be sure to use 100% pure pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling, which is already spiced.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

PG tested

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar

15-ounce can pumpkin puree

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup orange juice

1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lowering the oven rack prevents the top of your bread from browning too much, too soon. Grease a metal 9×5-inch loaf pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt together until combined. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, granulated sugar and brown sugar together until combined. Whisk in the pumpkin, oil and orange juice. Pour these wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently mix together using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. There will be a few lumps. Do not over-mix. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 60 — 65 minutes, making sure to loosely cover the bread with aluminum foil halfway through to prevent the top from getting too brown. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with only a few small moist crumbs. This may be before or after 60-65 minutes depending on your oven, so begin checking every 5 minutes around the 55-minute mark.

Allow the bread to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before removing and slicing. Cover and store leftover pumpkin bread at room temperature for up to 3-4 days, or in the refrigerator for up to a week.

— Adapted from sallysbakingaddiction.com

------