Easy and Delicious Pumpkin Bread!

Every year when summer comes to an end, I am always sad and slightly reluctant to welcome in the fall. However, this year we had such an insanely hot summer in VA, I was surprisingly happy to feel the cooler weather. I do have to admit fall does bring some pretty awesome things; football, fall fashion, pumpkin spiced lattes, beautiful changing leaves and of course delicious seasonal recipes. I am not much of a baker (too many exact measurements for my style) but in my new found excitement for the season, I found this wonderful recipe. With a few small changes I turned it into a healthier recipe that was absolutely delicious and reminiscent of all things fall.


Pumpkin Bread (or muffins in this case)
- 1 1/2 cups sugar (I only used one to cut back on the sugar and they were still amazing. If you are comfortable with splenda you can use that too - I am slightly afraid of the stuff)
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 t baking powder
- 1 t baking soda
- 3/4 t salt
- 1/2 t cloves (I substituted all spice here)
- 1/2 t cinnamon
- 1/2 t nutmeg
- 1 2/3 c flour (I used half whole wheat and half all purpose)
- 1/2 c oil (you can substitute applesauce but I went with canola oil here)
- 1/2 c cold water
- 1 cup pureed pumpkin (make your own or use store bought)
- 1/2 c walnuts (the recipe did not call for this, but I had some in the pantry and thought they would be a nice add-in)

The best part about this recipe? You simply mix all of these ingredients together in one bowl, pour into a greased pan and bake at 325 degrees.
Bread (one loaf) = 75-90 minutes
12 muffins = 45 minutes
24 mini muffins = 25 minutes

I made 12 muffins and they were absolutely delicious!! I love that you can really adjust this recipe based on your preferences and what you have around the house. This is an inexpensive recipe and has lots of antioxidants from the spices, pumpkin and walnuts. A nice side benefit to making these is that your house will smell like fall all day!

Happy Eating!