Vegan MoFo Day 21: Pumpkin Bread

I think I'm moving back into Thanksgiving, or at least, into autumn fare and away from Christmas cookies. I've been meaning to make pumpkin bread since I bought two little sugar pumpkins this fall, but then just didn't get to it. Then when I did get to it, the pumpkins weren't good. One was like, squishy when I cut into it. The second I roasted in the oven with intent to puree and make bread, and it was bitter. I finally just resigned myself to using canned pumpkin and I'm so glad I did, because it's delicious.

This recipe calls for a ton of sugar which really makes it more of a "cake" than a "bread" even moreso than like, banana bread is more cakey than bready. It is very moist and delicious though! The boy ate a piece tonight, declared that he didn't like pumpkin bread, but that he loved my pumpkin bread!! I think that's a pretty good endorsement! I have no idea where this recipe came from. I've been making it for over a decade and have veganized it. It makes either 3 small loaves or 2 big loaves or like 2 dozen muffins, so I guess maybe the sugar thing isn't TOO bad.


Pumpkin Bread
2 cups pureed pumpkins
1 cup vegetable oil
2 2/3 cups white sugar
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup non dairy yogurt
3 cups + 2 tbsp all purpose or white whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 large or 3 small loaf pans.

2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin, vegetable oil, sugar, applesauce, and yogurt.

3. Stir in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.

4. Divide the batter between the loaf pans and bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Vegan MoFo Day 19: Pumpkin Cookies

This recipe really walks the line of "Christmas Cookie" and "Thanksgiving Food." With pumpkin, you generally think of Halloween and Thanksgiving. With cookie, you generally think "mmm cookie." There isn't a bad time for cookies, and since my themes so far have been thanksgiving and cookies, it has a place one way or the other.

The one thing that you need to remember when you make a fruit or vegetable cookie is that they stay cakey. Like if you replace eggs with banana your cookie will stay cakey and not get crunchy or chewy. It isn't a bad thing if you like cakey cookies, but if you dislike them, then it's a good idea to avoid recipes with pureed produce. To me, these cookies remind me of little bites of spicy pumpkin bread. I love pumpkin bread, so that isn't a criticism. Take care in how you store them, however. Due to their soft nature, they tend to stick to each other and you get clumps of one cookie on another cookie. A sheet of waxed paper or parchment in between layers will help to prevent that.

Also, this is another "random icing" related recipe. I made a maple icing by taking about 2 cups of powdered sugar, a splash of maple extract, then drizzling maple syrup into it until the proper consistency was reached. It is a nice compliment to the pumpkin and spice.


Pumpkin Cookies
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup margarine, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup pureed pumpkin
1/4 cup nondairy yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cream together the margarine and sugars.

3. Beat in the pumpkin, yogurt, and vanilla until smooth.

4. Sift in the dry ingredients and stir to combine

5. Drop tbsps of dough onto ungreased cookie sheets and flatten slightly.

6. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the edges/bottom start to get golden brown. Allow to cool completely before you ice.