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
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Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (165 degrees Celsius) and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
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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.)
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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.
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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.
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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.
Well, now I know what I’m going to bake this weekend! I’ll just sub GF flour and abracadabra, I’m set!!! Yum!
What a great idea adding pumpkin to banana bread!! Looks delish!