quick breads Archives · Jess in the Kitchen

Are you team pumpkin or team apple in the fall? Hands down, I was team apple for years. Then I slowly shifted. It started when I grew my own pumpkins and subsequently roasted them. I had to bake with them, and once I did that, there was no looking back. At about that same time, I discovered a pumpkin bread I adored. But…it had THREE cups of sugar. Three. I just can’t do that anymore. So this is my take on that bread I adored: a spiced pumpkin bread.

When I bake something I am especially proud of, I share with allll the friends and family. One friend said it had a feeling of spice cake with pumpkin on the finish. The Mr’s best friend grabbed a piece and before I could even ask what he thought, he said, “this is REALLY good.”

I opted to go maple syrup with just a touch of brown sugar for that molasses taste. And the oil? I actually used some rendered lard from our half of a pig we purchased earlier this fall. It got melted/softened and worked like a dream. No lard? No problem, go with some coconut oil or regular oil and it will work just fine.

Ready to start baking? Let’s go!

Your Ingredients

1 ½ cups pumpkin puree (roast your own! It’s incredible!)
2 eggs
¼ cup oil (lard)
⅔ cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cloves
½ cup chopped nuts, optional

You Steps to Spiced pumpkin Bread

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, oil, maple syrup, and brown sugar. Mix in the pumpkin puree.

Add the whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Mix until just combined. Fold in chopped nuts, if desired.

Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes, until cooked through and passes the toothpick test.

Spiced Pumpkin Bread

Home roasted pumpkin with a collection of spices makes the best quick bread. This healthier twist on a spiced pumpkin bread is sure to be a hit!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 50

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American, Bread

Servings slices

Equipment

9×5 Bread Pan

Ingredients

1 ½ cups pumpkin puree
2 eggs
¼ cup oil lard
⅔ cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cloves
½ cup chopped nuts optional

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine the eggs, oil, maple syrup, and brown sugar.
Mix in the pumpkin puree.
Add whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Mix until just combined.
Fold in chopped nuts, if desired.
Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes, until cooked through and passes the toothpick test.

Notes

We purchased a half of a hog the last few years, and I always have the lard rendered. It works AMAZINGLY well in baked goods. I melted it about halfway so that it had some soft sold parts yet. No lard? No problem. Coconut oil would work great too!

Keyword healthy breads, maple syrup, pumpkin, pumpkin bread, quick breads

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Looking for other fun recipes?

Check out any of the ones below and if they don’t tickle your fancy, find lots more on my baking page!

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you may know that I have a couple of fun foodie groups that I get to be a part of: Around the World in 80 Dishes where we pick a different country every month to cook from and One Book, Three Recipes where we pick a different cookbook off our shelves each month and we cook three recipes from it. This fun coconut and raisin spiced muffins recipe was a child that came from the later challenge.

I had been debating on a few different recipes from one particular book and then turned to a page that had a recipe for coconut bread. I set out to make the recipe, and I found myself saying, “huh…there’s none of this ingredient? Or that one? And yet another? This seems strange.” What I had was some sand-textured ingredients in a bowl. There was no way it was going to create a loaf of bread. A few typos that missed the editor’s desk, I presume.

And so I played with it and was instantly in love with the results. Now, if you’ve been with me for a while, you know that I usually sub maple syrup for sugar and try to give a healthy twist. These coconut and raisin spiced muffins are not that. They are dense, warming, and delicious; totally different from my average fruit muffin. Give them a try!

Your Ingredients

½ cup butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
⅔ cup milk
2 ⅓ cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup dried unsweetened coconut
1 cup raisins or other dried fruit (cranberries, cherries, etc)
½ cup chopped nuts

Your Steps to Coconut and Raisin Spiced Cookies

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 18 muffin vessels with liners or by greasing them. Combine the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla, and milk.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Add to wet ingredients until just combined. Stir in coconut, dried fruit, and nuts. Place the mixture into the prepared tin, filling ¾ of the full.

Bake for 20-24 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Coconut and Raisin Spiced Muffins

These coconut and raisin spiced muffins are full of texture and flavor, creating a delicious and dense muffin full of warming spices.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings muffins

Equipment

Muffin tin

Ingredients

½ cup butter softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
⅔ cup milk
2 ⅓ cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup dried unsweetened coconut
1 cup raisins or other dried fruit cranberries, cherries, etc
½ cup chopped nuts

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 18 muffin vessels with liners or by greasing them.
Combine the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, vanilla, and milk. Stir until well combined.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt.
Add to wet ingredients until just combined. Stir in coconut, dried fruit, and nuts.
Place the mixture into the prepared tin, filling ¾ of the full.
Bake for 20-24 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.