The months extending from October to January are my favorite time of the year. With Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas, the holiday season is a non-stop tasting frenzy of rich dinners and sumptuous desserts. And I do love the desserts. So do my clients. As a dental practice management consultant, I hear from doctors right after the holidays that they hardly need dental advertising because they are seeing so many patients come in after the New Year with a mouthful of cavities. Brush your teeth, people! Brush them right after meals! That is how you have your cake and eat it too! That said, I use a great pumpkin bread recipe that I got my aunt who is fantastic with baking desserts. I like this recipe because there’s not a lot of sugar that’s required, and it’s pretty easy to convert to some of the ingredients’ healthier counterparts. Check out the ingredients below. Please note that the ingredients need to be at room temperature:
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour. Use whole wheat flour for a healthier version.
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 ½ cups sugar. If you are watching your sugar intake, consider using Splenda® or another sugar substitute. Just make sure you read the manufacturer’s directions on coverting the amount.
1 ½ cups canned solid-packed pumpkin
½ cup vegetable oil. To cut calories, use applesauce instead.
1/3 cup walnuts
1/3 cup raisins
Preheat your oven to 350 °. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
In a 5-quart mixing bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients. Then add eggs, sugar, pumpkin, oil and mix until well combined. Now add nuts and raisins and mix until smooth.
Pour the mix into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 70 minutes, or until a pick placed into the center comes out clean.
Place the pan on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and continue to cool on same rack.
This is a simple recipe that leaves you room to be creative. I sometimes add a dash of allspice to the batter, and because I’m a chocolate lover, I usually add about a cup of semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips. The pumpkin bread can be served warm with butter, jam and coffee or tea. If you are feeling particularly decadent, use Nutella spread instead of butter. One last note: these loaves make wonderful gifts. I gifted one to a client during a dental consulting appointment and he gave me a toothbrush and a speech about sugar in return. Then he promptly ate the entire loaf. Yes, this pumpkin bread is good stuff.