Peanut Butter Pumpkin Bread

Happy Monday!
So sorry I didn't update anything this weekend but Ruby has gone from an unpredictable napping schedule to none at all and this weekend was sort of the culmination of all of that - meaning not only did she not sleep enough, I didn't either. After reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child again I've decided I'm going to try to wake her up at 7 every morning in hopes that not only will she go to sleep earlier but she'll nap at least twice (for at least an hour at a time) during the day. This morning was the first morning of our new routine so we got up at 8, napped at 9 for an hour and then again at 1:20 after quite a bit of crying and screaming, but I can tell she's tired I think she was wound up and over tired by the time she finally fell asleep. I'm going to give it two weeks... I have a feeling it's going to be a long two weeks but hopefully no longer than it's felt the last two weeks.

On another note - I made more pumpkin bread this weekend! I didn't get any more leaves cut out, for reasoning, read above paragraph. I did, however, score some pine cones from my neighbor that I'm going to scent with some essential oil and use as a festive centerpiece to go with my pumpkin votive holders that I plan to make this week. Woohoo!
Here's what I've learned about pumpkin bread:
I'm going to give you the original recipe first and then tell you about my experimentation.

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Bread (2 loaves)

3 cups sugar

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup water

2/3 cup peanut butter

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil, water and peanut butter; beat well. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Gradually add to pumpkin mixture; mix well. Pout into two greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Ok. So first I cut the recipe in half and tried one loaf just as the recipe called. It was delicious. So very delicious. I knew that I wanted to make it often and even eat it for breakfast but couldn't knowing what was in it (especially how much sugar!) so I tried a few variations.
1. I used pumpkin (or applesauce) instead of the oil - it worked out just fine
2. I only put in 1/2 cup of sugar in each loaf - I thought it was great for a breakfast bread by my husband didn't think it was sweet enough, and it didn't taste as good as before so maybe it needs 3/4 cup sugar or a mixture of honey and sugar? depends on your taster
3. I used 1/2 white flour and 1/2 whole wheat - tasted just fine and baked great. The only difference I noticed is that it's a little more dense and crumbly but that's the nature of whole wheat. My husband didn't notice that difference though.

I'm still going to tweak the recipe and plan on trying to substitute flax for the eggs, honey for sugar, and add saigon cinnamon instead of regular. I might add some cloves to give it a more pumpkin pie flavor too. Oh, and if you really want the peanut butter flavor I recommend adding a little more than 1/3 a cup per loaf. Maybe 1/2 cup even.
And if you still haven't gotten Saigon cinnamon... well... I think I might just have to have a giveaway... Stay tuned.

In the mean time, enjoy the weather and have a wonderful day!