A Healthier Pumpkin Bread

This has always been a favorite of mine this time of year. I wanted to find a healthier recipe, seeing how I am watching my sugar and fat consumption.I found this recipe using olive oil and thought that I would try it. My daughter doesn't eat sugar, so I have to change the sugar amount and use a substitute. If you would like to reduce the amount of sugar in your pumpkin bread, substitute ½ cup of Splenda granular sweetener for ½ cup of the sugar. If you do, add an extra ½ teaspoon of baking soda to help your bread rise. I make a cranberry bread with all Splenda and that works out fine. It makes a more crumbly loaf, however. My very favorite quick bread is a lemon bread with a lemon glaze. It tastes so good with a cup of tea....almost a dessert. I love to have several loaves of these breads in the freezer during holiday time. If company comes I can pull one out and in a matter of a few minutes we can have a treat with coffee. I like to give loaves of all different kinds of breads for holiday gifts too. Sometimes I wrap a loaf in a pretty tea towel when I give it away. During the holidays you can find pretty aluminum pans to bake these in.

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Method

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda.

2 Mix the pumpkin, oil, eggs, 1/4 cup of water, and spices together, then combine with the dry ingredients, but do not mix too thoroughly. Stir in the nuts.(I don't chop these too fine so they get lost in the bread) I sometimes add raisins or chopped dates. Just mix these with a little flour, so they don't sink to the bottom of the loaf.

3 Pour into a well-buttered 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes until a thin skewer poked in the very center of the loaf comes out clean. Turn out of the pan and let cool on a rack.

Can easily double the recipe.

Yield: Makes one loaf.

Balisha