Sarah’s Rap: One of my family’s favorite baked goods is pumpkin bread. I’ve been making it since I was a twelve year old girl with an early love of baking. I was given my first cookbook, a classic Betty Crocker, and spent the next few years working my way through the recipes.  Out of all the things I made, the pumpkin bread recipe got the most use. We’ve tried various other recipes and box mixes over the years, but the classic Betty Crocker pumpkin bread recipe is still preferred by my family and always a hit with friends and co-workers.

Sadly I can’t eat this version any more, so over the last few years, I’ve tried many Paleo pumpkin bread recipes. I’ve never found one that tasted as good as our family favorite. So instead I set out to make my own based on that and I have to say that this year I finally nailed it.This was the first year I used pecan flour and I have to say that it really took it to another level.  I made my own by soaking raw pecans in lightly salted water overnight, dehydrating them until crunchy, then grinding it to a powder using an attachment for my juicer. This helps break down the naturally-occurring Phytic acid in the nuts and makes them more digestible. If you can’t do this, you can (of course) find pecan flour on Amazon.com. You can also substitute almond flour, although this will change flavor somewhat.

Paleo Pumpkin Bread

• 15 oz. canned pumpkin puree
• 2/3 cup melted coconut oil
• 2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup maple sugar (or 2-3 teaspoons liquid stevia, depending on sweetness level desired)
• 1 1/2 cup ground pecan flour (or almond flour)
• 1 cup arrowroot flour
• 6 Tablespoons coconut flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (e.g. Great Lakes brand)
• 1/2 cup raisins, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 8 and 1/2-inch loaf pans by greasing the bottom well with coconut oil.  For easier release, also lay a rectangle of parchment paper in the bottom and grease that. Do not grease the sides of the pans.

In a large bowl, whisk pumpkin puree, melted coconut oil, vanilla extract, liquid stevia or maple sugar and room temperature eggs (you can bring eggs to room temperature by putting them in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes).

In a medium bowl, blend nut flour, arrowroot flour, coconut flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves and gelatin until well mixed. Break up any lumps. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mix and whisk well. Add raisins, if using, and fold in.

Spoon batter into two loaf pans and smooth the tops. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and top is firm to the touch. Remove pans from oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around sides of each pan and remove loaf from pan. Place the loaf on the wire rack and let cool completely.

Slice and enjoy for breakfast, snack or dessert. It also makes a nice accompaniment to a holiday meal.

You can also glaze cooled loaf with this scrumptious Maple Pecan Glaze or add stevia-sweetened chocolate chips to turn it into a more decadent dessert.

Happy Baking everyone! As always, I’d love to know what you think of the recipe.