Aaaand, I’m back [again].

Bring on the pumpkin.

I know, I know.

The blog world has been inundated with pumpkin recipes as of late.

…but I’m still adding one more to it.

Tis the season, right?

This past weekend was probably the perfect example of New England in the fall.

It was cool – but not cold. Most of the leaves had turned their autumn shades of gold, red and yellow – and there was a persistant breeze that swirled the fallen leaves all over the yard.

Oh, and it brought down a tree at 11:45 at night…fun.

I digress…

Needless to say, I was inspired to break out the mix(er) and make something pumpkin-y.

In came a lovely little mix that has been residing in my pantry for far too long:

Now – I know I’ve discussed this in the past…I love from-scratch baking…but I have absolutely nothing against a good mix. People don’t necessarily enjoy something more just because you slaved over a million and one ingredients, and spent an entire day in the kitchen (no matter how much you enjoy it).

Plus, like I was saying to Meg from A Dash of Meg on Twitter…a mix just shortens the time between whipping it together and being able to shove it into my face.

Pumpkin puree and eggs were added to the mix – and I added walnuts and dark chocolate chips. Dark Chocolate & Pumpkin are inseparable in my kitchen.

While this mix is actually a cake mix – I baked it like I would a banana bread…and it came out deeelicious. The ends were chewy and the bread itself was really moist and studded with all of those walnuts and chocolate chips.

Dessert bread perfection.

• What are some of your favorite fake-outs and mixes??