I love holiday baking–the smell it brings to the whole house, the cheer, the smiles when some grabs a piece. A slice of pumpkin bread makes this time of year feel like the holidays. But, I want it to be healthy-ish and taste delicious, so I figured why not make a holiday staple like Pumpkin Bread a little more nutritious.
Here’s my favorite Pumpkin Bread recipe—improved, using maple syrup (full of antioxidants), whole wheat flour, coconut oil, and a touch of orange juice. It’s fast, easy, and tastes divine.
INGREDIENTS
- ⅓ cup melted coconut oil
- ½ cup honey or maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup pumpkin purée
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin spice blend (or ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon allspice or cloves)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda (NOT baking powder)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¾ cups white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
- Optional: ½ cup mix-ins like chopped walnuts or pecans, chocolate chips, or raisins
- Pinch of ground cinnamon, for sprinkling on top
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan
- In a large bowl, beat the oil and honey together with a whisk. Add the eggs and whisk until blended. (If the coconut oil solidifies on contact with cold ingredients, simply let the bowl rest in a warm place for a few minutes, like on top of the stove, or warm it for about 10 seconds in the microwave)
- Add the pumpkin purée, orange juice, pumpkin spice, baking soda, vanilla, and salt, and whisk to blend. Lastly, switch to a big spoon and stir in the flour, just until combined. If adding any mix-ins, gently fold them in
- Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon. To make a pretty swirled effect, run the tip of a knife across the batter in a zig-zag pattern
- Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (typically, with no mix-ins, my bread is done at 55 minutes; if added mix-ins, might be closer to 60 minutes). Let the bread cool in the loaf pan for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer the bread to a cooling rack to cool for 20 minutes before slicing
Check out Cookie + Kate and Sally’s Baking Addiction, two of my favorite baking sites that helped me adapt my recipe.
