Pumpkin Bread

Quick breads are so yummy. My mom used to make them for us often when I was a kid. There's nothing like the aroma of baking cinnamon and pumpkin to really usher in fall. Ever since the beginning of October the blogosphere has been overwhelmed with pumpkin recipes. Pumpkin muffins, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cakes, pumpkin breads and pumpkin waffles. The last 2 mentioned the Witch is guilty of as well. But really, is there anything wrong with an abundance of pumpkin recipes? If you're a pumpkin lover then the answer is heck no! Bring them on! (If you aren't a pumpkin lover then I apologize. The pumpkin train will be departing soon!)

So after searching countless blogs and recipe sites the Kitchen Witch ran across one pumpkin recipe that stood out from the rest. I really don't know what it was about Megan's recipe from What's Megan Making, maybe the amazing photographs. Maybe the simple straight forward flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg and clove mixed with pumpkin. Maybe it was Megan's confession that she will be making these into muffin size for portion control in the future! Whatever it was I bookmarked it and made it today. And let me tell you, I'm one happy Witch that I did!

Being Andrea the Kitchen Witch I (of course!) had to deviate from the recipe. I added applesauce for half the fat, to cut back on calories and add moisture. I also added a cinnamon sugar topping, the same one that was such a hit with my banana bread. I also cut back on the overall sugar by 1/4 a cup, not a lot but every little bit adds up and I don't like an overly sweet quick bread. With all the changes I'm happy to report that the baked up tall and beautiful just as expected.

Now for the all important taste test. Sweet, yet spicy and gently flavored from the pumpkin. The pumpkin makes the loaf very moist and gives it a very tender crumb. This pumpkin bread is a family pleaser, the little Witch had 4 slices yesterday and deemed it "yummy Mommy". I'll take that any day!

Pumpkin Bread
Adapted from recipe at What's Megan Making?
makes 2 loaves, approx 12 servings per loaf
2 cups white sugar
3/4 c brown sugar, divided
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 c unsweetened applesauce
4 eggs, beaten
1 can (15oz) pumpkin
3 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
fresh ground nutmeg, about 1/2 t (if using dried use 1 t)
2 tsp cinnamon, divided
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2/3 cup water

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 2 loaf pans with non stick spray and then line bottoms with parchment paper, leaving edges to hang over like a hammock. This will assist in removing the bread from the pan when baked.

Finished loaf with the parchment hammock attached, the ends hung over the loaf pan, removal was as simple as lifting it up out of the pan!

In the work bowl of your stand mixer add the applesauce, pumpkin, eggs, oil, white sugar and 1/2 c of the brown sugar. Mix well until thoroughly incorporated.

Meanwhile mix the flour, 1 t cinnamon and remaining spices, baking soda & powder and salt together.

Add the 1/3 of the flour mix to the pumpkin mix, then add 1/2 of the water. Repeat with flour and water, ending with flour as last addition.

Evenly distribute the batter into the 2 prepared loaf pans.

In a small bowl mix the reserved 1/4 c brown sugar with the reserved 1 t cinnamon. Mix well and even distribute over the top of both loaves.

Bake at 350F for about an hour or until bread tests clean.


Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 218.1
Total Fat 5.6 g
Saturated Fat 0.6 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.5 g
Monounsaturated Fat 3.0 g
Cholesterol 35.4 mg
Sodium 333.6 mg
Potassium 95.1 mg
Total Carbohydrate 42.1 g
Dietary Fiber 1.2 g
Sugars 27.0 g
Protein 3.1 g

Donut muffins

This recipe has been floating around the blogosphere for a while now. I saw Teauna, the author of From Cupboard to Cupboard post about them, twice, and knew that it was time to make them. If you haven't done so already, please do check out Teauna's site, she has some fantastic recipes, everything I've tried from her was delicious! Thanks Teauna for another delicious recipe!

These yummy little treats are really easy. They mix up in less than 5 minutes and take about 15 minutes to bake. So in less than 30 minutes you can have fresh baked donut muffins for your family. I was able to get mine made while the coffee brewed and the bacon fried. They made for a fun and delicious breakfast.

The muffins themselves are gently spiced with nutmeg and cinnamon. After they bake you dip the muffins in melted butter and then cinnamon sugar. They have a very tender crumb and texture is very much like a cake donut, but with out the messy (and high calories) of deep frying. Easy peasy, perfect for lazy Sunday mornings, delicious with coffee or a tall glass of apple cider.

Donut Muffins
makes 6 servings, 2 muffins each
from Teauna at From Cupboard to Cupboard
1 3/4 c AP flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt (table salt)
1/2 t cinnamon
fresh grated nutmeg, about 1/8t OR 1/2 t dried grated nutmeg
1/3 c oil
3/4 c sugar
3/4 c milk
1 egg

Topping:
1/3 c butter, melted
1/3 c sugar
1 T cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray muffin tin with non stick spray liberally.

In a medium size bowl mix the flour, baking soda, spices and salt. Whisk to incorporate.

In a separate bowl mix the sugar, egg, milk and oil. Whisk well.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Stir about 10 times with a rubber spatula until the mixture is wet but lumpy. Lumps are ok, they give the nooks and crannies that muffins are famous for. Do not over mix!!

Pour batter into the muffin tin dividing it evenly amongst the 12 openings. Bake for 15 minutes or until it tests clean with a toothpick. Allow to cool on a cooling rack for 3 minutes before inverting onto the cooling rack.



Dip each muffin top into the butter then immediately into the cinnamon sugar. Roll it around to evenly coat and place on a tray. Repeat with all muffins. You can also dip the bottoms of the muffins in the butter and into the cinnamon sugar, if desired, after coating the tops. Its easier to do this in 2 stages, the muffins tend to get too wet & soggy if you try to dip the entire thing in butter at once.

Mini muffins can be made instead of the larger ones, should yield 24 mini muffins or 12 large size ones.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 489.4
Total Fat 23.1 g
Saturated Fat 7.6 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 4.1 g
Monounsaturated Fat 10.2 g
Cholesterol 29.8 mg
Sodium 330.6 mg
Potassium 49.6 mg
Total Carbohydrate 67.2 g
Dietary Fiber 1.7 g
Sugars 38.2 g
Protein 4.9 g

Zucchini Bread

Ah, the zucchini. A favorite of many gardeners to plant and grow due to its prolific fruits. But what do you do with all that zucchini? After you've grilled it, stuffed it, covered it in cheese and anything & everything else you can think of, you're still stuck with a few HUGE zukes at the end of the season. At least the Kitchen Witch is!! When I discover the big boys in the garden, you know the ones, they start small and you say "I'll harvest you tomorrow, you'll be perfect then" and then forget, come back a day later and WOW! its MONGO zucchini? Zucchini loses its flavor and texture the bigger it gets which is why those big ones are perfect for making bread!

The addition of zucchini to a quick bread adds fiber and moisture and (thankfully for zucchini haters) very little flavor, which is why the big ol' ones are perfect for bread. The base flavor of zucchini bread is cinnamon, ideal with am coffee. This version of zucchini bread is a less sweet, lower in fat and calorie version. It retains all of the original moisture thanks to the yogurt. Perfect with a drizzle of honey.

If you're using a 'normal' sized zucchini you'll probably need 2. If you have a giant one, cut it in half, scoop out the seeds then grate. The Kitchen Witch does not squeeze the moisture out of the shredded zucchini - I want all that moisture in my bread, thank you very much! Zucchini bread also freezes extremely well so make a few loaves and treat yourself to a slice long after the harvest is history.

Zucchini Bread
makes 2 loaves, each loaf serves 8
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c canola oil
1/2 c plain yogurt
1 t vanilla
3 t cinnamon
2 c AP flour
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/2 t table salt

Mix the eggs, oil, sugar, vanilla and yogurt together in a work bowl until thoroughly combined. Add the zucchini and mix well.



In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda & powder, salt & cinnamon.

Add the dry ingredients into the liquid in 3 installments, scraping down the sides of the bowl between each addition.

Divide batter into 2 loaf pans that have been sprayed with non stick spray. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick tests clean.

Allow to cool and remove from loaf pans. If freezing, wrap cooled loaf in plastic wrap then wrap again in aluminum foil. Will keep up to 6 months in the freezer.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 184.6
Total Fat 7.6 g
Saturated Fat 0.7 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2.2 g
Monounsaturated Fat 4.3 g
Cholesterol 26.9 mg
Sodium 167.9 mg
Potassium 125.4 mg
Total Carbohydrate 26.4 g
Dietary Fiber 0.8 g
Sugars 13.8 g
Protein 3.1 g

Cinnamon topped banana bread

A friend and reader requested a banana bread recipe. There are about 1,000,000 recipes for banana bread out on the internet, so what could the Witch do to make hers different?

I've made banana bread using applesauce in place of oil to save calories. It works but it makes the bread slightly gummy. Gummy is NOT a texture profile that I really enjoy. I've added whole wheat flour to the batter, to amp up the fiber and health quotient. Its not bad, but I was out of whole wheat flour this time. I've also added chocolate chips. That is really delicious, and the little Witch LOVES it, but I'm still out of chocolate chips. Drat.

That's when I thought of a strudle like topping. Cinnamon is usually added to sweet quick breads, so why not top my banana bread with a cinnamon topping? I cut back on the sugar in the bread to compensate for the additional sugar in the topping. The result is a beautiful golden heavenly scented loaf. The little Witch was napping when I made the bread and the first thing she asked me when she woke up was "Mom, whats that really good smell? What are you making?"

This bread turned out really well if I do say so myself. As a matter of fact, its the first banana bread that the little Witch has actually enjoyed, chocolate chips or no. I think I might make french toast out of the leftovers. I hope you all enjoy this recipe. If you have any dishes that you'd like to see the Kitchen Witch do please let me know, send me a message on facebook or here on comments.

Cinnamon topped Banana bread
makes 1 loaf
3 overripe bananas
3/4 c white sugar
1 T vanilla
1/4 c butter, melted
1 egg
1/4 c milk
1.5 c flour
1.5 t baking powder, aluminium free if you can find it
1 t salt (regular table salt here)
Topping:
1/4 c brown sugar
1 t cinnamon

I used my KitchenAid stand mixer: you can use a hand held mixer or even a wooden spoon to make this recipe.



In a medium sized mixing bowl mash bananas. Add the white sugar, vanilla, butter and egg. Mix well. Stir in the milk.

Mix the dry ingredients together and add to the banana mixture in 3 installments, scraping down sides after each addition of flour. Mix batter until it lightens in color and becomes thicker, like a pancake batter.



In a small bowl mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together.

Pour batter into a greased loaf pan. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the top of the loaf, spreading it out evenly across the entire surface.



Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until it tests clean in the center. Allow to cool before slicing and enjoying.



Nutrition Facts provided by Spark People recipe calculator
8 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 294.3
Total Fat 7.0 g
Saturated Fat 4.0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.5 g
Monounsaturated Fat 2.0 g
Cholesterol 42.7 mg
Sodium 397.8 mg
Potassium 238.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate 57.3 g
Dietary Fiber 1.8 g
Sugars 34.0 g
Protein 4.0 g