Scrumptious Pumpkin Bread

Last night Benny helped me make my third batch of pumpkin bread. We've got to use these pumpkins up and I can only make so much bread, soup, and pie before we're sick of all things pumpkin. My friend, Amanda, sent me this scrumptious pumpkin bread recipe. She always comes through! Check out her blog, The Rhythm of Cooking, for many more great recipes! And try this pumpkin bread recipe. It's simply delish!

Scrumptious Pumpkin Bread

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup nut oil, such as walnut or almond or
  sunflower seed oil (I use coconut oil, but good olive oil would work too!)
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (I use whole wheat)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon (bump this up if you love cinnamon)
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 cup coarsely chopped pitted dates

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

In a bowl, whisk together the sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs and oil until smooth, about 1 minute.

In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and beat until smooth and well combined, 1 to 2 minutes. The batter will be thick. Using a large rubber spatula, fold in the dates just until evenly distributed, no more than a few strokes. Do not overmix. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake until the top is browned and crusty and develops a long center crack, 60 to 70 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf should come out clean.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Unmold the loaf onto the rack and let cool completely. Serve at room temperature, cut into thick slices. Makes one 9-by-5-inch loaf.