You Want to Hold Out Until Thanksgiving for Pumpkin Pie

The leaves are changing ...

The weather has cooled ...

And every grocery store has a huge display with ingredients for pumpkin pie.

Which can only mean one thing ...

It's time to get out the pumpkin recipes!

Now I love my banana bread. Don't get me wrong.

But with Thanksgiving only a month away (actually less!), and all of those displays, I'm craving pumpkin pie.

And since I'm a believer in holding out until the big T-day, I needed a to find a way to temporarily settle my craving.

The answer?

Eating delicious pumpkin spiced bread and muffins (along with a bunch of other pumpkin recipes which I'll share with you all November!).

What I love about this recipe is that it's quite versatile, and it makes a lot!.  There's plenty of batter to go around, and if you don't feel like sharing, you can even freeze half of the muffins or bread for a future craving.

Plus, I was able to make it a wee bit healthier, by eliminating the traditional 3 cups of white sugar, and replacing it with just a cup of brown sugar, and a cup of natural maple syrup.  I also eliminated half the oil and replaced it with applesauce.

But just in case you prefer to make the original recipe, I've included that too. 🙂

So the next time you want keep your pumpkin pie craving at bay, stock up on cans of pumpkin puree.  You've got the perfect recipe for a pumpkin bread that will tied you over until the big day.

Until our next meal,

Rebecca

Spiced Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 (15 ounce) Can Pumpkin Puree
• 4 Eggs
• 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 1/2 Cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce
• 1/2 Cup Water
• 1 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1 Cup Real Maple Syrup
• 3 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 2 Tsp Baking Soda
• 1 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1 Tsp Ground Nutmeg
• 1/2 Tsp Ground Cloves
• 1/4 Tsp Ground Ginger

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans, or one large loaf and one standard dozen muffin tin.
2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, applesauce, water, brown sugar and maple syrup until well blended.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger.
4. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
5. Bake muffins for about 20-25 minutes, small loaf pans for 50 minutes, and regular loaf pan for about one hour in the preheated oven.
6. All are done when a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Original Pumpkin Bread Recipe

If you prefer a sweeter cake-like bread, this recipe is delicious!

Ingredients:

• 1 (15 ounce) Can Pumpkin Puree
• 4 Eggs
• 1 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 2/3 Cup Water
• 3 Cups Sugar
• 3 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 2 Tsp Baking Soda
• 1 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1 Tsp Ground Nutmeg
• 1/2 Tsp Ground Cloves
• 1/4 Tsp Ground Ginger

Follow the same directions above.