#PumpkinWeek - Cinnamon Pumpkin Bread

Hello again and welcome to day 3 of #PumpkinWeek hosted by Terri from Love and Confections. We are celebrating our love of the season with a whole week of pumpkin goodies, leading up to National Pumpkin Day! 17 Food Bloggers have come together to share over 65 recipes with you. In addition to homemade pumpkin puree, pie, and cookies, we are also sharing savory pumpkin dishes like hummus, chili, and pumpkin corn chowder. Come back every day for new and delicious #PumpkinWeek recipes. You can also find these great recipes and more on Love and Confections' #PumpkinWeek Pinterest Board!

I have a confession. This is not the recipe I originally intended to share. I wanted to make this one. However, I am in the midst of moving, and didn't get to that recipe this past weekend and last night I realized both the spices I needed and my bread loaf pans were already packed. So - I am sharing this one I made and photographed in January 2010 but never shared on my blog - that was back when I was primarily posting about my surrogacy adventures still!

With that said - excuse the poor and lonely photograph - but still try this bread! It is tender, flavorful, moist and a very yummy pumpkin bread. I've made it a few times and it always disappears fast around my house.

When I originally made this I made several modifications to the original recipe and found they worked very well - the bread is pretty easy to tweak if you want to make it healthier. I've included some of my modifications in the recipe posted below. I used half real sugar / half Splenda in my original version and the flavor and texture were still great, so if you prefer to bake with Splenda / Stevia it will work in this recipe.

I can assure you, your house will smell WONDERFUL while this is baking, and it will definitely feel like fall in your kitchen! This one is great warm, cool, with butter, for breakfast, as a snack or dessert (warm it up and top with some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream)! Yumm!

Check out all the #PumpkinWeek Bloggers and their recipes from today:
Pumpkin Pie Cream Cheese Truffles by Love and Confections
Pumpkin-Vanilla Bean Madeleines by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
White Chocolate Drizzled Pumpkin Scones by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
S'mores Pumpkin Pie by The Spiffy Cookie
Homemade Pumpkin Puree by Happy Food Healthy Life
Pumpkin Mole by Curious Cuisiniere
Drunken Pumpkin Seeds by Life Tastes Good
Pumpkin Roll by A Day in the Life on the Farm
Pumpkin Lasagna by My Catholic Kitchen
Cinnamon Pumpkin Bread by Making Miracles
Pumpkin Quinoa Oatmeal Bake by The Pajama Chef
Pumpkin Chocolate Swirl Pancakes by Dizzy Busy and Hungry

Cinnamon Pumpkin Bread adapted from Tanja Miller on AllRecipes

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups white sugar (or half sugar / half sugar substitute such as Splenda or Stevia)

1 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce

3 eggs

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

1/2 cup water 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat together sugar, applesauce, eggs, and pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture alternately with water. Divide batter evenly between the prepared pans.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. For best flavor, store wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for a full day before serving.