HAPPY HALLOWEEN WEEKEND!!

Do you have any fun Halloween plans? We have a work party tomorrow night in Seattle. Normally I go all out on a costume, but this year I’m throwing on a flannel and overalls, turning into a scarecrow and calling it a day! I want to be festive but there’s nothing worse than an uncomfortable costume. The rest of the weekend I plan on watching scary movies, breaking into the mini KitKats and pumpkin shaped Reeses and having a cozy weekend at home.

Last weekend I baked this pumpkin banana bread and it is so perfect for Fall. Not too sweet for breakfast and is great with a cup of coffee in the afternoon. We always have bananas lying around, so this bread is even better when you have a couple of really ripe ones. I adapted this recipe from Cookie & Kate. I love her pumpkin bread, I just tweaked it by adding bananas and adjusted the measurements a little.

I hope you all have a great weekend, filled with all the pumpkin-y things, scary movies, haunted houses, costume parties, and copious amounts of candy!

Pumpkin Banana Bread

Ingredients
– ⅓ cup melted coconut oil
– ½ cup honey or maple syrup
– 2 eggs
– 1 cup pumpkin purée
– 2 ripe bananas
– 1/2 cup milk of choice
– 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin spice blend (or ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon allspice or cloves)
– 1 teaspoon baking soda (NOT baking powder; they aren’t the same!)
– 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
– ½ teaspoon salt
– 1 ¾ cups white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
– optional: ½ cup mix-ins like chopped walnuts or pecans, chocolate chips, raisins, chopped dried fruit…
– Pinch of ground cinnamon, for sprinkling on top

What to do

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (165 degrees Celsius) and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.

2. In a large bowl, beat the oil and honey together together with a whisk. Add the eggs and whisk until blended. (If your coconut oil solidifies on contact with cold ingredients, simply let the bowl rest in a warm place for a few minutes, like on top of your stove, or warm it for about 10 seconds in the microwave.)

3. Add the pumpkin purée, mashed bananas, milk, pumpkin spice, baking soda, vanilla and salt, and whisk to blend. Lastly, switch to a big spoon and stir in the flour, just until combined. Some lumps are ok! If you’re adding any additional mix-ins, gently fold them in now.

4. Pour the batter into your greased loaf pan and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon. If you’d like a pretty swirled effect, run the tip of a knife across the batter in a zig-zag pattern.

5. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (typically, if I haven’t added any mix-ins, my bread is done at 55 minutes; if I have added mix-ins, it needs closer to 60 minutes). Let the bread cool in the loaf pan for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer the bread to a cooling rack to cool for 20 minutes before slicing.