Pumpkin Bread

Words cannot describe how excited I am to post about this bread right now. This is the bread that my mom always used to make when we were growing up. To think I used to not even like pumpkin bread is outrageous. Now, I love it. I almost want to get up from my comfy spot just to go get some. Yummm

With just days until Thanksgiving, I realized I hadn't even made pumpkin bread yet, and I'm pretty sure that by this time last year I had made a good 5 or so batches. I decided to make two batches in one to make up for some lost time :). The good news about this bread is that you don't even need a mixer. Just a sifter or superfine strainer. Andddd to the recipe..


Pumpkin Bread
1  3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup pumpkin pie mix
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1/3 cup water


Set oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, sift together all of the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, Whisk together the vanilla, oil, eggs, water, and pumpkin pie mix. It's really important to get the pumpkin pie mix rather than the puree. It will look like this...

With a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Stop mixing just as the dry ingredients are fully incorporated. 

For mini muffins: Line a mini muffin tray with foil liners. Fill each 3/4 full

Bake for 10-12 minutes. 

Love these little guys...

For bread: Spray a 7x11 pan with non-stick spray and pour in the batter. Bake for about 22-25 minutes or until a knife/toothpick is pulled out clean from the center. 

See, I did actually make bread! No lying this time. The delicious flavors of cinnamon and pumpkin make for a deliciously moist bread. Since I miraculously made this post BEFORE Thanksgiving, maybe someone will actually make it for their Thanksgiving dinner. That would be nice... 

Anyway, I think my office is really starting to like my obsession with baking. 

Enjoy :)

Banana Bread

Okay, so I lied a little bit. Instead of bread, I actually made them into mini banana muffins. It makes it a lot easier to try my own recipes without ruining the loaf, and it's also a little easier to bring places. See.. I have my reasons

I love Sundays. There's really nothing better than a lazy Sunday, being able to cook and bake and watch football and some foot network (which happens to be the Thanksgiving special today). Seriously,  it's awesome. Now that you know how much I love Sundays, I can go on to tell you the story of my banana bread... 
Two weeks ago I made a banana bread that was straight from a recipe. It was really delicious and moist and super simple. I thought it would make a great base for some more recipes so I got some more bananas last week and waited for them to ripen so I could try changing some things. Yup, I was totally right, so delicious! Here's my twist on attempting to put some wholesome ingredients into banana bread... I'm workin on the butter part


Mini Banana Muffins
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cups quick oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 2/3 cups mashed overripe banana. 
6 oz. (about 2/3 cup) plain fat-free greek yogurt (I used Chobani)


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In the base of a stand mixer beat together the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, vanilla, and banana mixture. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Sift together and then add the oats. Combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until fully incorporated.

For Mini Muffins: line a 24-cup tin with mini cupcake liners and scoop heaping tablespoons into each one. Place in the oven for 9-11 minutes. Let cool in the tins for at least 5-10 minutes. 


For Bread: Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan and pour batter in. Bake for about 55-65 minutes, until toothpick can be placed in the center and come out clean.

This weekend I also had the privileged of starting to decorate for Christmas. I KNOW I KNOW, too soon. But I leave for NY super early on Wednesday, and by the time I come back on Monday, Thanksgiving will be over and literally everything will have shifted into Christmas mode. So excited.

ANYWAY Now that I have 48 awesome little banana breads, I hope work is ready for them tomorrow morning! I'm also extremely proud of myself for posting something the same day I baked. Just don't get used to it, since I also baked pumpkin bread today, and that post definitely won't be up for a few days. 

Enjoy :)