Pumpkin Bread Recipe (Vegan)

Fall always reminds me that I need to start baking with pumpkin again.  I created a fantastic pumpkin bread recipe a few years ago that is a favorite in our house, and somehow I neglected to publish it here until now.  This recipe doesn't use cinnamon, just allspice and nutmeg to spice it and bring out the great pumpkin flavor.  This bread is moist and delicious, and it is also egg-free, which means you can lick the batter from the spoon and mixing bowl (Sam's favorite thing to do).  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bread Recipe

2 cups unbleached flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 can pumpkin puree (15 oz. can)
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Sugar in the Raw

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix dry ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl.  Add the wet ingredients and mix throroughly.  Spray a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray and pour the batter in.  Top with a sprinkling of Sugar in the Raw.  Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.  Let cool thoroughly before slicing.  Makes 1 loaf.

If you want to make muffins instead, bake the muffins for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.  Makes 16 muffins. This bread and these muffins freeze well.

 

Egg-free Pumpkin Pie Recipe (Vegan)

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I decided this year I would come up with a vegan pumpkin pie recipe (no dairy, no eggs) so Sam can enjoy it more than one time. I thought that adding flour to the pumpkin mixture in lieu of eggs would stick it together and give it the right texture. The hard part was figuring out exactly how much flour to use. I'm happy to say I have it just right in this recipe and the texture is spot-on. Also, the spice blend I came up with works perfectly with the pumpkin. This pie is super easy to make, and it smells heavenly while baking. I'm thrilled with how this pie turned out, and am looking foward to making it again for Thanksgiving.

Egg-Free Pumpkin Pie Recipe

1 small can of 100% pure pumpkin (15 oz.)
1 cup of Hemp milk or vegan milk
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup unbleached flour
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 recipe of Flaky Pie Crust (I use 1 cup of just unbleached flour for it, not both types of flour)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the sugar, flour, spices, and salt in a medium sized mixing bowl. Add the pumpkin and milk and stir it all together until well-combined.

Make the pie crust dough. Lay a large piece of wax paper on your work surface, put the ball of dough in the middle, and lay another large piece of wax paper over the top. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a thin circle larger than the pie pan. Spray the pie pan with non-stick cooking spray. Peel the top piece of wax paper off, and invert the crust, centered, into the pie pan and remove the other piece of wax paper. Press the dough into place in the pie pan. Fold the edges of the dough that is hanging over back under itself along the edges of the pie pan and press the dough to the sides of the pie pan to make a nice crust.

Pour the pumpkin pie filling in the middle of the pie crust and use a spoon or spatula to move the filling to the sides of the crust.

Bake the pie for 1 hour. Let the pie cool for 2 hours before serving. Store the pie in the refrigerator.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Recipe (Vegan)

I grew up eating my Mom's roasted pumpkin seeds every Fall after we carved our pumpkins. Her recipe was from our neighbor, Mrs. Hallam. It has Worcestershire sauce and butter in it, so I can't make these seeds for my family. I created this recipe so Sam could enjoy roasted pumpkin seeds every Fall, too. We just carved our pumpkins for Halloween yesterday, so we are all currently munching on roasted pumpkin seeds at the moment.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Recipe

3 cups of clean, dry, raw, fresh pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp salt

Carve your Halloween pumpkins and separate out the pulp from the seeds. Rinse off the seeds to get all of the pulp off of them and lay them out in a single layer on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet or two to dry out over night, or for a few days if need be. When the seeds are dry, you can roast them.

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Measure out 3 cups of dry seeds. Add them to a mixing bowl along with the vegetable oil and the salt. Use a spoon to mix it all together.

Pour out the pumpkin seeds and lay them out in a single layer on an ungreased cookie sheet or sheets. Roast them for 1 hour total roasting time, taking them out every 15 minutes and using a spatula to turn all of the seeds and lay them out again in a single layer. At the 1 hour mark, your seeds will be darkened and crispy. Let them cool, store them in an air-tight container, and enjoy!

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For those of you who can do Worcestershire sauce and butter, here is Mrs. Hallam's original pumpkin seed recipe:

2 cups of clean, dry, raw, fresh pumpkin seeds
1 1/2 tbsp melted butter
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

(for 3 cups of seeds, use 2 1/4 tbsp melted butter, 1 3/4 tsp salt, and 3/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce)

Follow the roasting instructions above, and enjoy!  These are truly decadent.