A bumper crop of new pumpkin foods — some actually worth checking out

It happens every fall. Pumpkin Mania.

Pumpkin beer?

Check.

Pumpkin spice lattes?

Absolutely.

Pumpkin pie, cake, cookies and other traditional baked goods?

You bet.

My husband would eat pumpkin pie every day if he could. In a not-so-subtle hint, he devoted most of our large garden this year to pumpkins, now abundant on the meandering vines in varying stages of ripeness.

As early as August, the pitches for new pumpkin-flavored products start coming in. And they continue.

The latest: pumpkin pie gelato and habanero pumpkin spice wings, the latter part of a new seasonal menu at World of Beer.

OK, we get it. We like the change of seasons and the associated dishes and flavors that each one brings. Pumpkin and its companion spices are not only universally pleasing, but they also evoke Americana (pilgrims and all that).

But anything can be overdone.

That said, I did try a few noteworthy new pumpkin products this year.

New from Chobani is its “Flip” Pumpkin Harvest Crisp pack: pumpkin-flavored Greek yogurt with a separate portion of crunchy pie crust pieces, pecans and glazed pumpkin seeds to mix in. Nice pumpkin flavor, a little tang, good sweet crunch.

Dancing Deer Baking Co., a mail-order artisanal online bakery out of Boston, offers new Pumpkin Spice Dessert Bites, addictive chewy little squares that are part of a new Pumpkin-Palooza Gift Medley, along with pumpkin chewy cookies and pumpkin shortbread cookies.

However, new pumpkin spice almonds from Planters — while delicious — tasted much more of spice and only faintly of pumpkin.

More satisfying were the pumpkin tortilla chips I picked up at Trader Joe’s. The pure pumpkin flavor comes through, a nice blend with the corn, with just a tiny hint of spice (and they’re not sweet).

But frankly, when it comes to pumpkin foods, I’d rather just take to my kitchen and bake something from scratch.

And in that arena, I’ve always been partial to two classic pairings: pumpkin and chocolate and pumpkin and cream cheese. I can never stop with one piece of that classic, moist pumpkin sheet cake topped with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting. The pumpkin cake roll with cream cheese filling is another pumpkin siren song.

This recipe has been a favorite for nearly a decade. With its pretty swirls of chocolate amid the orange pumpkin batter, it straddles the line between quick bread and cake. Enjoy it with coffee or tea, or perhaps a pumpkin spice latte.

And if you really want to go pumpkin-crazy, you can bake it in a new loaf pan from King Arthur Flour; when you invert the bread, the top displays a raised pumpkin harvest scene design.

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PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE SWIRL LOAF

This favorite fall quick bread originally appeared with a column by Diane Rosen Worthington.

Makes 12 servings

Tested by Nancy Stohs

1 3/4 cups unbleached flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into pieces

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-by-5-inch nonstick loaf pan.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt and stir together.

In a large bowl, with electric mixer, beat butter until softened. Add sugar and continue beating. Add eggs and beat until well blended. Add pumpkin, vanilla and finally the flour mixture, beating just until well-blended.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler over medium-high heat until totally melted, about 5 minutes. Or melt in a glass bowl in microwave for about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, or until completely melted and smooth.