The sound of family and friend s chattering and laughing as the smell of vegan spiced pumpkin bread tickles your

guests’ noses and Vince Guaraldi’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas” plays in the background, are some of my favorite memories of the holidays and being around the people who are important in my life.  Food is the centerpiece of family gatherings and holiday parties so of course you want to make sure you put your best “dishes” forward and have a wide variety of tantalizing treats on display.   This vegan spiced pumpkin bread is an easy addition to complement your vegetarian or vegan holiday feast.   If your party menu is already maxed out with your traditional favorites, give your guests a piece of the night, to enjoy when they get home, by wrapping (in a cute and decorative cellophane wrap) these egg-free and dairy-free loaves of scrumptiousness and giving them to your guests to take home with them.  Who could resist the gift of food?  Even better, you can share this vegan recipe with your other vegetarian and vegan friends so that they can bake this bread whenever the mood sets in.

Ingredients:

Bread

1 ¾ cups of all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon all spice

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon baking powder

1 cup of sugar

1/3 cup of brown sugar

½ cup of softened vegan margarine

1 cup canned puree pumpkin

½ cup of plain soy yogurt

1 teaspoon rum extract

2 teaspoons chopped ginger

2 teaspoons grated orange peel

1 cup of raisins (hydrated)

Glaze

1 ¼ cup of powdered sugar

1 tablespoon of vanilla or plain soy milk

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1.      Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 9×5 inch loaf pan with vegetable oil spray.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg, cloves, and baking powder.

2.      In a mixer or food processor, mix the sugar, pumpkin, soy yogurt, rum extract, ginger, and orange peel.  Mix until the batter is well-blended and smooth.  Slowly pour in the flour mixture, a little bit at a time, until fully blended.  Next, add the raisins and pulse for about 1 minute.  Pour batter into loaf pan.

3.      Bake the bread batter for 60 minute or until the edges pull away slightly from the sides of the pan and the center of the bread springs back when lightly touched.

4.      Cool bread for 15 minutes.  Once bread has cooled, remove bread from pan and allow to cool completely (about 30 more minutes)

5.      While bread is cooling, in a small bowl, add the powdered sugar, soy milk, and vanilla extract and whisk together until smooth.  With a spoon, drizzle the glaze over the bread.  Let glaze set before serving (about 10 minutes)

This bread can easily replace a slice of pie or cake as a dessert.  The vegan pumpkin spiced bread is also a great appetizer that can be sliced and drizzled, with the glaze, and served on a platter.  If you are entertaining for a large group, and you need to save time with cooking and food preparation, you can easily bake the bread ahead of time and freeze the baked bread for up to 2 weeks and just thaw at room temperature for at least 6 hours prior to serving.    What are some of your favorite holiday memories?  Do you have a specialty vegetarian or vegan dish that all of your guests rave about each year?  Enjoy this recipe and more importantly, enjoy the company of your loved ones during this holiday season.

If you need more vegetarian and vegan recipes for anytime of the year, make sure you put your name and email address in the form on the right, and I will send you a free e-cookbook that is loaded with vegetarian and vegan recipes.

Until Next Time,

Take Care

EJ