Mini (Pumpkin) Spiced Breads (allergen friendly)

Its the week before Halloween, so naturally, my pumpkin senses are tingling. Meaning I had to make another pumpkin recipe, obviously. ITS PUMPKIN BREAD TIME! I really love Halloween, and of course I am dressing up. #noshameinthecostumegame You’ll just have to wait and see if my Halloween costume turns out 😉 … then I’ll tell you what it is!

Last week a group of friends & I carved some pumpkins (including my lovely friend and the photographer of these wonderful photos, Ashley at Beschell Photography ). While we were carving away, I took all of our group’s pumpkin seeds and roasted them up! I did a savory and a sweet version– the savory being a mix of avocado oil, onion powder, smoked paprika, sea salt, garlic powder & pepper; the sweet was avocado oil, honey, real maple syrup, sea salt, & cinnamon. I think they turned out great, and I ended up eating what felt like 3 pumpkins worth of pumpkin seeds! haha! What can you do, they are paleo and it ‘tiz the pumpkin season!

Also, side note: HOW DID PUMPKIN SPICE BECOME PUMPKIN SPICE? Because pumpkin alone does not taste like pumpkin spice…. which is a mix of fall spices (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom). I suppose people got together and decided to name the spice mixture pumpkin spice just because pumpkins also reminded them of fall? Why don’t they call it fall spice? …. we may never know.

BACK TO THE RECIPE AT HAND

Now for those of you who are either trying their best to indulge in all things sweet & fall…. or trying to avoid the plague of temptations: DON’T WORRY. This recipe is for BOTH of you.

How, you ask? Well, these mini pumpkin spiced breads are grain free, gluten free, nut free, dairy free, & have no added sugar. “Paleo” bread, baby! Not supposed to be sweet folks! But for the sweet factor, I decided to create a frosting topping, if you so desire. So like a little pumpkin bread with frosting… so its delicious. You could also probably add in half a cup of mini chocolate chips, if you want a chocolate-chip pumpkin bread.

Again, this is a paleo, gluten free mini bread you can feel GOOD about. And honey, the only added sugar, has many health benefits (micronutrients, local honey can help with allergies…. just make sure the honey isn’t heated too much!). Make sure to look for local, raw honeys for maximum benefits (and to make sure it really is honey!)

Other prominent benefits provided by the ingredients are fiber, good fats, and it is lower-carb than normal bread!

MINI PUMPKIN SPICE BREADS (paleo, grain free, dairy free, nut free, no added sugar)

Need: oven, mixer, parchment cups, cupcake tin

PUMPKIN BREAD:

4 eggs

1/3 cup coconut flour

3 tbsp cassava flour

1/4 cup + 1 tbsp pumpkin puree

1/3 cup applesauce (unsweetened)

2 tbsp pumpkin spice

3 tsp vanilla extract

pinch salt

1 tsp baking powder

1.5 tbsp softened coconut oil

1/2 smashed banana

HONEY DRIZZLE:

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp nut or seed butter of choice at room temperature (I used tahini)

pinch of sea salt

1 tbsp softened coconut oil

Melt the coconut oil, set aside. Mash banana, set aside.

Add the eggs, pumpkin, applesauce, vanilla, & mashed banana into a bowl

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients.

Slowly, incorporate dry bowl into wet bowl. Add the melted coconut oil.

Let mixture set for 5 minutes, then pour into muffin tins, half-full.

Bake @ 350 ~30 mins

For the drizzle, just mix all ingredients!

Let these babies cool, and I think they are even better a day old!

Enjoy your healthy, paleo baked treat! Pumpkin spice season & fall done right.

And if these still weren’t enough to satisfy your pumpkin cravings… check out some of my other recipes! … like my No-bake Pumpkin Chocolate Bombs which are seriously my favorite things to make right now, & my Pumpkin Ice Cream (Dairy Free) which goes amazing with some cacao nibs!

Have a great week! And have more treats than tricks 😉

-Alexis

PS. In the spirit of all things pumpkin spice & halloween, I’ll share with you a photo of me on Halloween, last year. Yeah, yeah, I really get into the spirit, I know.