Pumpkin Bread

It's FALL!  The chill is definitely in the air and while in general, cooler weather is not exciting to me...the one thing that I LOVE about fall is...pumpkin!  It shows up everywhere.  I couldn't believe it, but a few places even started having pumpkin flavors out in September.  One of my favorite things is pumpkin ice cream, and of course I have to be very careful with that, but always try to get by with a few bites.  This year, I was so excited when I went one afternoon to get a frozen yogurt and they had pumpkin!!!  Yeah!  It is delicious and I don't have to worry about it hurting my tummy.  Maybe one day I will see if I can figure out how to make my own pumpkin frozen yogurt.

The one thing that I know I can make is pumpkin bread.  I am not sure where this recipe came from, but it is the one that I got from my mother and the only one I have ever used my whole life.  I have converted this recipe to a  Low Sugar  recipe.  Of course, as we have discussed before, the raisins have some natural sugar, but also, this recipe uses brown sugar.  The Splenda Blend product is a half and half product, but also you use only half the amount that your recipe calls for.  So, that means that the amount of sugar is 1/4 that of the original recipe.

So here is the converted recipe:

• 1 c. canned pumpkin
• 1/2 c. Splenda Blend brown sugar
• 1/2 c. Splenda, granulated
• 1/2 c. vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c. no-sugar-added applesauce
• 2 c. flour
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/2 t. nutmeg
• 1/2 t. cinnamon
• 1/2 t. ginger
• 1/4 c. water
• 1/2 c. raisins
• 1/2 c. chopped nuts, optional

 In a large mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin, sugars, oil, and applesauce.  Mix until smooth.  I guess that you can use a mixer if you want to, but there really is no need.  A wooden spoon or spatula will work just fine and they mix fairly easily.
In a small bowl, beat the eggs and then add them to the wet mixture and incorporate them.
Next add the dry ingredients to the bowl and stir in.
Finally add the water, raisins and nuts (if desired).  Now I will give a personal commentary here:  I don't think that you can ever have too many raisins.  So you could add up to a full cup of raisins if you are a raisin lover like me.

 Well-oil or well-spray a loaf pan and add batter.
Bake at 335 degrees for 55 minutes.

 This is going to make your house smell amazing.  I love the warmth of the cinnamon and nutmeg.  After removing it from the oven, let it sit in the pan for 5-7 minutes.  Run a knife around the edge and turn out onto a cooling rack.
Now I don't know about you...







...but I can't ever wait for it to cool, and I always hope that maybe just a little spot in the middle didn't quite get done and is still just a little gooey.  So I just cut it right through and take my nice warm piece right out of the center.
Just as a preview, know that there will be more pumpkin flavors as we get closer to Thanksgiving.  Why don't we eat pumpkin year round...???