The Siren Song of Pumpkin
Posted by Sara Carlson on
Fall is here, that magical time of year when the leaves turn into swaying and cascading art, a little chill crisps the air, and pumpkin flavored everything takes over the restaurants and stores. If you’re at all like me, you can’t resist the siren song of pumpkin cookies, cakes, lattes, gnocchi, ravioli… Honestly, I might eat a car bumper if they slathered that thing in pumpkin and cream cheese frosting. To save my kids from eating too many processed foods and plastics, I have an arsenal of great pumpkin treats to get into the swing of Fall festivities. So, let’s talk about pumpkin bread, which isn’t really bread at all. This recipe is full-on delicious cake. I make mine with Gluten Free flour, like Brown Rice flour without any modifications, but this recipe is great with all purpose flour, too.
Sara’s Fall Pumpkin Bread
Preheat the oven to 350, butter a loaf pan, and gather your ingredients.
Mix the following in a large bowl:
1 Cup of Pumpkin (full disclosure, I used canned. Don’t judge me.)
½ Cup of Apple Sauce
½ Cup of Oil
2 Eggs
1 Tsp Vanilla
Sift or whisk together in medium bowl:
1 ¾ Cup of Flour, GF or regular
2/3 Cup of Sugar
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Cinnamon or Pumpkin Pie Spices
¼ Tsp Salt
¼ Tsp Baking Soda
2/3 Cup of Chocolate Chips (optional)
Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mix, careful not to over mix. Just until combined. Pour everything into the loaf pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes, testing with a toothpick for doneness. Cool on a cookie rack for 10-15 minutes and remove from the loaf pan.
At this point, you can enjoy it as is or you can add a little drizzle of maple syrup. Or you could get really crazy and whip 8 oz of Cream Cheese with 3 Cups of Powdered Sugar and a Tablespoon of Maple Syrup for an extra decadent breakfast, I mean dessert. I’ve been known to double the recipe and use a bundt pan because, you can never have too many slices of pumpkin bread.
Sara Spock Carlson is a mom of two amazing boys, wife, Penn State graduate, researcher, Realtor, and freelance writer. When she’s not licking pumpkin flavored bumpers, she can be found at the park with her boys or shopping for adorable deals at The Animal Kingdom.