With less than two weeks to Thanksgiving, the anticipation of the holiday overwhelms me with both happiness and a bit of angst. Who’s coming? Who’s vegetarian, who’s gluten-free, and what can I make to please every palate?
Quickbreads are great crowd pleasers. My two favorite varieties are pumpkin bread and corn bread, and this recipe unites the best of both worlds. It also gives me the opportunity to use all the pumpkins I have adorning my windows, mantles, and tables–including the seeds, which make a great snack or pumpkin oil for baking and salads.
This pumpkin cornbread is a wonderful accompaniment to a soup or salad course, as well as for the bread basket during dinner. It is also great toasted for breakfast year round with a shear of salted butter–a simple, homemade way to start your day makes it easy to remember that every morning is a time to give thanks.
1 cup drained pumpkin purée
1 cup low-fat milk
2 tablespoons of pumpkin oil
1 tablespoon of Maple Syrup
2 eggs
1 ½ cups stone ground yellow cornmeal
½ cup Redmill gluten-free flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons of lightly toasted pumpkin seeds
Heat the oven to 400 degrees, then butter the bread pan and sprinkle with flour, shaking off the excess. Whisk together the pumpkin purée, milk, pumpkin oil, maple syrup, and eggs. Place the cornmeal in a large bowl, and sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir.
Pour the batter into the bread pan and sprinkle the top with the pumpkin seeds before placing in the oven. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes before serving.
Slice, serve, and give thanks!
