Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Pumpkin!

I had a little extra time this morning, so I decided to get some baking done that I planned to do later today.  So here it is 6:30 am, and I have 3 loaves of Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread that are just about ready to come out of the oven done, as well as a batch of Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes made for breakfast!  I'd say that's a productive morning!

Both recipes came from my favorite source, 100 Days of Real Food.

I'll start with the pancakes.  Her recipe is actually for Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes, but I wanted pumpkin so I subbed the 2 ripe bananas with 1 cup of pumpkin puree.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes

Adapted from Williams Sonoma Breakfast Cookbook/100 Days of Real Food

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole-wheat flour (I use King Arthur’s organic white whole-wheat flour)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted + butter for frying
• 1 cup pumpkin puree

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. Make a well (hole) in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the honey, eggs, milk, and 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Whisk together thoroughly, but do not overmix.
3. Gently fold the pumpkin into the batter with a spatula.
4. Heat a griddle or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Swirl enough butter around the pan until it is well coated. Add pancake batter using a soup ladle.
5. When the pancakes have begun brown on the bottom, flip them over to cook the other side.
6. Serve and enjoy!

The only thing I was disappointed with, was that they weren't very pumpkin-y at all.  They really tasted just like regular pancakes, but they were still very good regular pancakes :)

Now, the Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread.  I LOVE this stuff, so do the kids.  It's delicious.  When I am making it to keep I usually double the recipe and make one loaf, and 12 muffins, and freeze the muffins.  This time I am giving it away, so I doubled the batch and made 3 loaves. 

Whole-Wheat Pumpkin Bread

Adapted from 100 Days of Real Food

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups whole-wheat flour (I used King Arthur’s white whole-wheat flour)
• 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon cloves
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup oil 
• ½ cup honey
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup pumpkin puree

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl whisk together the dry ingredients (from the flour down to the salt).
3. Make a well (hole) in the center and throw in the eggs, oil, honey, and vanilla. Stir together thoroughly with a fork, but do not overmix.
4. Fold in the pumpkin puree.
5. Generously grease a large loaf pan or put muffin liners in a muffin pan and then pour in the batter.
6. For a loaf bake for approximately 30 – 40 minutes and for muffins bake for approximately 18 – 22 minutes. Check for doneness by making sure a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

And there you have it!  Now, I have to tell you, I was skeptical, whole wheat, no sugar?  Hmmm.  But both recipes are delicious!  You can't even tell they are "healthy".  My kids gobble them up, and think it's some sort of treat, I love it!  So just TRY it, you'll be pleasantly surprised! Oh, and 1 hour, start to finish, I had the bread made and in the oven, pancakes made and plated, bread out of the oven, who doesn't have time for one hour?

Later today I am making Cinnamon Glazed Popcorn, stay tuned!