A couple of weeks ago, my friends somehow convinced me to pick up a tennis racket and hit some balls around. This is not an easy feat. You may not believe it, but I’m pretty resistant to trying new things, especially sports. I won’t call what we did playing tennis, cause I actually have no idea how. But it turned out to be so much fun, and I realized I’d forgotten how great it is to just play. It puts a huge grin on my face, and it makes me forget all my worries. I’m ashamed that I’d forgotten that, but grateful now to remember. When did life become so serious, anyway? I think I might just make tennis my new hobby.
Emily came back from her trip to Colorado last month raving about playing in the snow. Her pictures are amazing, don’t you think? She also raved about this Double Dark Chocolate Bread that her friend Crystal made for their play day. She generously sent us the recipe–thanks for sharing, Crystal! It would be great for a picnic, especially with a thermos of steaming coffee.
Double Chocolate Quick Bread
Yield
1 loafPrep Time / Cook Time
/Activity Guide
Backpacking, Day Trip, PicnicIngredients
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (or just semisweet)
- 1/4 cup walnuts (optional)
Tools
- Food processor or blender
- Large bowl
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Medium bowl
- Mixing spoon
- Loaf Pan
Method
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Melt 1 cup chocolate chips (I did this in the microwave) and set aside to cool. Cream together softened butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and cooled chocolate and mix well. Mix in applesauce and vanilla and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Slowly add to butter mixture and mix well. Stir in remaining chocolate chips and walnuts.
- Pour into one large greased loaf pan or several small ones. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Towards the end, I usually put some tin foil over the top to keep it from burning. Once it is cooled, pack it up for your trip.
I love your recipes! Very nice site.
I made this for a 4-day car camping trip, and it was PERFECT! Not overly sweet (so many recipes are…) and it stayed wonderfully moist for 5 full days (tin foil + ziplock). I subbed white chocolate chips for the dark ones and added a bit of orange zest. Clearly, this recipe could take endless variations. Thank you — this will be one of my favourite go-to camping recipes.
P.S. Mai-Yan: Je suis Montrealaise!
Excellent news! We love it when people recipe test for us. Thanks for the feedback, and let us know if you make any other fabulous variations. I’m excited to try orange zest.
this sounds yummy. i’m a vegetarian hiker, so this site is awesome! i was wondering if this would need to be kept in a cooler over a 3 day/night hike, or if it could just be sealed in a bag or container for a couple days as long as not too hot out?