Kitchening: Healthier Pumpkin Bread with Molasses

Even though pumpkins are available here year round, pumpkin bread, butter, cookies, pasta, etc, etc just aren't as appealing in warm winter months. I've been doing my own pumpkin puree the past two years and it totally pays off. I get sweet orange organic pumpkins. Cut them in half. Scoop out the seeds and roast them cut side down at 350 until tender. Scoop flesh and ta da. I don't actually puree. If they're cooked long enough, they fall apart on their own so no need to muck up another appliance!

But the recipe...(it got a little brown in the oven, by the way. I blame China.) I was searching high and low for a molasses pumpkin bread with no luck–it was eithe r plain pumpkin or have-a-little-pumpkin-with-your-molasses bread. So I found one with honey and tweaked the bejuizes out of it. It turned out delish and since people were still talking about it this week, I thought I'd share it with the world (or the 5 people who read my blog)...

Pumpkin Molasses Bread
Adapted from Cooking Light

1/2  cup  sugar
2  large eggs (or 4 egg whites)
1  cup   pumpkin puree
1/2  cup  plain low-fat yogurt
1/4  cup molasses
1/4  cup  honey
1  teaspoon  vanilla extract


2   cups whole wheat flour (or AP flour)
1  teaspoon  baking soda
1  teaspoon  salt
1/2  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
1/2  teaspoon  ground cloves
1/2  teaspoon  ground nutmeg

1/2  cup (ish)  raisins (or craisins)
1/3  cup (ish)  pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Prep a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with a little butter and parchment paper.
2. Whisk together wet ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl then whisk together with wet ingredients until just combined. Stir in raisins and pecans with a wooden spoon.
4. Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour or until a wooden tooth pick inserted comes out clean. Cook on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool (or just eat the ends like I do).