Greek Yogurt Pumpkin Banana Bread [no butter + no oil]

It's pumpkin season.
And my second bake with pumpkin ever.
(first bake here)

With the overwhelming amount of pumpkin recipes and posts, I had a hard time deciding what I should bake with my left over pumpkin puree.

Pumpkin scones - starbucks copycat recipe..
Pumpkin crumb cakes - i loveee crumbs/streusel..
Pumpkin cheesecakes - with a graham pecan crust..

Pumpkin puree would be a great wet ingredient in creating some moist/tender cakes and breads. Seeing my overripe bananas and leftover Greek yogurt, I decided on this bread that combines the best of everything and can be served anytime of the day. Healthy for on the go breakfast and also indulgent (with the chocolate chips) to be a delicious afternoon snack.

The bread was lightly sweetened with the natural sweetness from one banana, 1/4 cup of maple syrup and 1/4 cup of brown sugar. The spices were well balanced and did not overwhelm the pumpkin and banana flavors. This bread would be great on any Thanksgiving spread.

Greek Yogurt Pumpkin Banana Bread
recipe adapted from Running with Spoons
makes one 9x5" loaf

1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
½ tsp. sea salt *used 1/4tsp
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 large, ripe banana (~1/2 cup mashed)
½ cup pumpkin puree
½ cup plain Greek yogurt
¼ cup (82g)* maple syrup *used 50g
¼ cup (50g) brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/2 cup chocolate chunks, semi sweet 

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF, and lightly line/grease a 9x5"bread pan. Set aside.
2. In large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Stir until well combined and set aside.
3. Lightly beat eggs in medium sized mixing bowl. Add mashed bananas, pumpkin, Greek yogurt, maple syrup, brown sugar, and vanilla. Stir until well combined.
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir gently. Do not over mix.
5. Fold in any add-ins you wish to include.
6. Pour batter into pan, spreading it out evenly, and bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
*After 45 minutes, cover with a sheet of tin foil to prevent the top from getting too brown.
7. Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Wet ingredients - before mixing.

Wet ingredients - after mixing.

Wet + Dry + Add ins.

After folding in dry, fold in any add ins!

Nice thick batter.

Ready to bake.

After 60 minutes of baking. 

The texture is soft and tender- thanks to all the good wholesome wet ingredients. The crust was nicely browned and had a chewy texture. The chewy texture pairs well with the soft interiors. 

Taste: 4.5 stars out of 5

Texture: 4.5 stars out of 5

Chewy Pumpkin Pecan Granola Bar [bake]

My first PUMPKIN bake (&first bake granola bars) - Chewy Pumpkin Pecan Granola Bar.

It's true that taste preferences change as you age. Some of the ingredients I used to hate not like so much are the ones I frequently eat nowadays. I used to not like eggplants, and now my mom's stir fried eggplants has become one of my favorite dishes. I don't like bananas, but I have grown an appreciation for the natural sweetness and nutritional qualities it brings to my baked goods. Another one is dates. They are the perfect binder for my no bake granola bars and a much healthier alternative to refined sugar.

In this recipe, I am playing with some more new ingredients to expand my pantry.

puffed millet
pumpkin puree
applesauce
ground flax seeds

Pumpkin, applesauce, along with honey are the main binder for this granola bar.

Chewy Pumpkin Pecan Granola Bar

recipe adapted from two peas & their pods

makes 12-15 granola bars

2 1/4 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup puffed millet
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
½ cup pumpkin puree
¼ cup applesauce
70g (a little less than 1/4 cup) honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup pecans
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp ground flax seeds
1 tbsp chia seeds 

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8x8" baking pan and set aside.
>>optional: toast oats/nuts/seeds and cool before combining
2. In a large bowl, whisk oats, spices, salt, nuts, and seeds together. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk brown sugar, pumpkin, applesauce, honey, and vanilla extract until smooth.
4. Pour wet mixture over dry and stir well, until all of the oats are moist. Stir in puffed millet.
5. Evenly press oat mixture into prepared pan.
6. Bake for 45-40 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
8. Using a sharp knife, cut into bars. Remove from pan and let cool completely.
>>bars were crumbly and soft. After cutting into bars, return back to oven at 350F for 15 mins.

Lowering the brown sugar from the original 3/4 cup to 1/4 cup resulted in only 9g of sugar per bar (or 11g per bar for 12 bars). These are lightly sweetened with a delicate warm pumpkin flavor. I kind of miss the sweetness and would probably throw in a couple pureed dates next time when I am making these.

I took them out of the oven at 35, cooled for 5, and attempted to cut them into bars. The bars were very crumbly (a little moist) and ended up falling apart a bit. I proceeded to cut 15 bars and returned them back to the oven.

The bars dried out a bit more, and all the crumbs that fell out turned crispy/crunchy just like granola! Puffed millets are actually chewy. I was expecting them to resemble more like rice krispies. The overall texture of the bar was chewy with crunchy edges and nuts/seeds. 

These are great wholesome snacks to keep you full through the day! My dad said he felt like he was eating rice!

Taste: 3.5 stars out of 5

Still in the process of acquiring a taste for pumpkin.

Texture: 3 stars out of 5

Chewy bars with slightly crispy edges and crunchy fall outs.