Pumpkin Bread

I really feel bad for pumpkins.  When autumn comes around, everyone goes into full out pumpkin mode – pumpkin picking, pumpkin pie, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin cookies, roasted pumpkin, pumpkin lattes, you get the picture.  Once the holidays are over, pumpkin is out.  People turn their backs on pumpkin for the rest of the year and this beautiful, delicious squash is quickly forgotten. 

I like to consider myself an equal opportunity food consumer (technical term), and I try not to pigeonhole foods into a certain time of the year.  I love to make and eat pumpkin anything all year round.  A couple weeks ago I had a strong craving for pumpkin bread.  I decided to go with a recipe I found on Allrecipes.  

In an effort to “healthify” the recipe (seeing as how I would probably consume the majority of the finished goods), I made some changes: 

1) Substituted applesauce for oil

2) Used a mix of whole wheat flour and all purpose flour

3) Halved the amount of sugar

Often times substitutions can be risky, but this bread turned out SO GOOD.  It was super moist and tasted like it was full fat and full sugar when in fact it wasn’t!  Ok, so I confess, even though I decreased the sugar in the recipe, I ended up tossing in some mini chocolate chips and butterscotch chips I had leftover.  Pumpkin Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Bread.  For even more joy, top with sliced bananas and peanut butter.  And feel free to eat this any time of the year.       

Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread

Recipe from Allrecipes

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time:  50 min

Yield: 3 loaves (I made 1 loaf and 30ish muffins - if making muffins, adjust bake time to about 20 min)

Ingredients

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil (I substituted applesauce)

2/3 cup water

3 cups white sugar (I only used 1.5 cups)

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 2 cups all-purpose, 1.5 cups whole wheat)

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Chopped walnuts (optional)

1/4 cup each mini chocolate chips and butterscotch chips (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.

2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.

3. Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.