1 Red Dog red kuri winter squash
1/2 cup melted coconut oil or other neutral oil
3 large eggs
1 cup plus 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar, divided
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)
1/4 cup squash seeds (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9- x 5-in. (6 cup) loaf pan.

Once the oven is hot, place the whole squash, stem and all, in the oven on a baking sheet. After an hour or so, take it out and let cool. You can carefully cut it in half to help it cool down a little faster. The skin and flesh should be easy to cut through. Once it is cool enough to handle, scoop out the seeds and stringy parts. You can rinse the stringy parts off the seeds if you’d like to use the seeds. Then scoop out the squash flesh and compost the skin. Puree the flesh in a blender, and add a bit of water if it needs more liquid to blend. Keep the oven at 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together the squash puree, oil, eggs, 1 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cloves until smooth and uniform in color. Add the flour and stir with a spatula until just combined (be careful not to overmix). Fold in the chocolate chips, if using. 

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle with the squash seeds (if using) and the remaining 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar.

Bake the bread until the top is cracked and a toothpick inserted into several parts of the cake comes out clean, 55 to 65 minutes. Cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.