Kim's Cooking and Gardening: Baking with Pumpkin and Squash

We love things baked with pumpkin. These are some of our favorite cookies. They are healthy. Sort of.

PUMPKIN COOKIES

1 c. butter

1 c. white sugar

1 c. brown sugar

2 eggs

2 c. pumpkin

1 tsp. vanilla

3 ½ c. flour

½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

½ tsp. salt

2 c. oats

3 c. choc. chips

1 c. chopped nuts

1 c. raisins (optional)

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in pumpkin and eggs. Add dry ingredients. Stir in chips and nuts. Drop on ungreased cookie sheet (or cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray).

Bake at 375˚ for 10-12 minutes. About 3 dozen light fluffy wonderful cookies.

Just a note about baking: when it says butter - I use butter. Really. I don't use butter on toast or muffins or vegetables, but when the recipe says to add butter, I add butter. I love the texture and the taste that butter gives to baked goods.

Another note: when something calls for flour, I use at least half whole wheat flour, sometimes more. It does change the texture, but for the better. And I like having unrefined whole wheat flour. I also add flax seed to most baked goods - for the texture and for the omega 3 fatty acids, B-vitamins, fiber, and antioxidants. I add 1/3 to 2/3 c. to most recipes.

While we're at it: I use a lot of honey. When a recipe calls for sugar, I try to substitute at least a part with honey. Again, it pays to stay away from too much refined flours and sugar.

Final note. I promise. I use Penzey's Spices (see the link on the right). I don't buy dried herbs or spices at the store - they've been on the shelf too long. You might have another source, but I really like Penzey's. Their spices are fresh and flavorful, and they have a great variety. Who knew fresh grated nutmeg could be so absolutely decadent.

Ok - back to baking. Here are two variations on pumpkin bread – both are delicious!

PUMPKIN STREUSEL BREAD

Topping: ¼ c. chopped pecans

2 tbs. sugar

1 ½ tbs. butter

¼ tsp. cinnamon

Combine and cut in butter till crumbly

Bread:

2 c. flour

½ c. sugar

½ c. raisins

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. cloves

½ tsp. nutmeg

1 c. pumpkin

½ c. plain yogurt

½ c. honey

¼ c. oil

1 tsp. vanilla

1 egg, beaten

Combine dry ingredients. Combine pumpkin, and rest of ingredients. Make a well in dry ingredients, add pumpkin mixture. Stir till moist. Spoon into 9x5“ loaf pan coated with cooking spray and dusted with flour. Sprinkle with topping. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or so. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan.

PUMPKIN BREAD

3 c. sugar (or part sugar and part honey)

1 c. vegetable oil (or use less oil and more pumpkin)

4 eggs, lightly beaten

16 ounces canned unsweetened pumpkin (or 2 c. pureed)

3 ½ c.flour

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp.cloves

2/3 cup water

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray with cooking spray, then flour 2- 9 by 5” loaf pans. Stir together sugar and oil. Stir in eggs and pumpkin. Combine dry ingredients in separate bowl. Blend dry ingredients and water into wet mixture, alternating. Divide batter between two loaf pans. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool.

This next makes a great Sunday dessert. It doesn’t use too much pumpkin, so you could adjust the pumpkin/banana ratio.

Vegan Pumpkin Banana Bread Pudding
Servings: 10

6 c. whole wheat bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 1 lb)
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
2 ¼ c. vanilla soy milk
¼ c. pumpkin
3 tbs. corn starch
½ c. maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
Brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with softened margarine. Place cubed bread in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup soy milk and the cornstarch until no lumps remain. Add 1 1/2 cups soy milk to the mix and then the maple syrup, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice and whisk to combine. Pour mixture over cubed bread and stir to coat every piece. Allow to sit for at least 15 minutes so the liquid can soak into the bread. Mixture will be mushy and wet.

Mash together bananas and pumpkin. Fold them into the soggy bread. Pour mixture into loaf pan, patting down to make an even top. Tasting is optional (and highly encouraged).

Sprinkle brown sugar on top. Bake for 30 minutes until the top is slightly browned. Allow to cool slightly before serving. If you’re eating this later on, warm it in a 200° oven until you’re ready to serve.

Nutrition Info (per serving):
Calories: 230; Total Fat: 3 grams; Saturated Fat: 0 grams; Cholesterol: 0 milligrams; Sodium: 260 milligrams; Carbohydrates: 46 grams; Fiber: 5 grams; Sugar: 27 grams; Protein: 6 grams

And you should have at least one of these every fall. This is the best pumpkin pie recipe I’ve tried:

PUMPKIN PIE

2 eggs slightly beaten

2 c. pumpkin

3/4 c. sugar

½ tsp. salt

1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. cloves

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 pie shell (bake at 425° for 10 minutes before adding filling) (I use Ree Drummond's pie crust - see link at the right)
This makes lots of filling - make in a deep dish pie plate.

A little about the pie crust: I make up a big batch then freeze individual pie crusts. It's a very tender crust so it's best to roll it out partially frozen. I also use 1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat flour. When you bake it for the 10 minutes before filling it, cut out a bit of parchment paper and lay it on the bottom of the pie. Fill with beans (I use some old pinto beans and just keep them in the cupboard for this purpose). This is the hardest part of this whole pie.

Then just pour the beans into a bowl till they cool and put them away for next time. Do make sure you cut the parchment paper big enough to pick the beans up and dump them back in the bowl without spilling back into the crust (those little hummers are a pain to pick out of the bottom - just sayin').

Mix spices and salt with sugar - that way the spices aren't in little clumps when you add the liquids.