Pumpkin Bread

In a standing mixer cream:

2 cups brown sugar

4 large egg whites

1 over-ripe banana

Add:

2 cups pumpkin

1/4 cup oil
1 cup plain yogurt
2 tsp. vanilla

1 Tablespoon baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
a dash of cloves
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup wheat flour
3 cups white flour
1/2 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two pans and one mini loaf pan with Pam and then flour.

In a standing mixer with whisps,  wisk,  brown sugar and egg whites. Add banana, pumpkin, oil, yogurt, and vanilla Stir to combine.
In a medium bowl, combine all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.
Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture; stir until just combined. Do not overmix.
Add chocolate chips and stir just until mixed.


Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Invert pumpkin bread onto wire rack; cool completely.

This is a recipe from Good Housekeeping November 2009 (Pumpkin Bread). It is a fabulous bread that is low-fat but moist, and tastes great. It bugged me that it only made one loaf--who makes just one loaf of bread? My challenge was, could I keep the fat low, but turn this into a three loaf recipe? I've tried to keep the oil low and add more yogurt and  so it stays low-fat. I've also added chocolate chips, a must, in my opinion.

If you need just one loaf, use the Good Housekeeping recipe but add chocolate chips. If you need more than one, try this one.  I gurantee moisteness,  and flavor.  This is an excellent recipe. Probably one of the best low fat recipes I've ever tried.

Original recipe had 1/4 cup applesauce and 3/4 cup yogurt. But I've tried eliminating the applesauce and adding the 1 cup of yogurt and it worked very well.

This recipe makes 2 decent sized loaves and  one mini loaf.

It can make three, but that third loaf is pretty small, or two nicely full bread pans. I tried to convince myself it would make three, but the loaves were too tiny.

Okay, I figured out how to make three full loaves: One full can of pumpkin, (29oz.) 4to 4 and 1/2 cups flour. An entire bag of chocolate chips. Whew!

(Low fat) Pumpkin Bread

2 cups brown sugar

4 egg whites
2 cups pure pumpkin
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup plain yogurt
2 tsp. vanilla
3 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3 cups white flour
3/4 c. wheat flour
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two loaf pans.
In a large bowl, with wire wisk, combine brown sugar and egg whites. Add pumpkin, oil, yogurt, applesauce, and vanilla. Stir to combine.

In a medium bowl, combine flours, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmet, baking soda and salt.

Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture; stir until just combined. Do not overmix.
Add 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Pour batter into preapred pan. Bake 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Cool in pan 10 minutes before putting on wire rack.
Yield - 2 loaves

This recipe comes from Good Housekeeping and it is fabulous on it's own. I may be wrong to even mess with it. Click Here to view the original.

It bugged me because it only made one loaf and who wants to make just one loaf of bread? I tried to keep it low fat by keeping the oil the same with the recipe doubled.

If you don't have applesauce handy you could use 1/2 cup oil or you could use 1/4 cup oil and 1 cup plain yogurt.

Cornbread Muffins (Low Fat)

2 Tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk (or milk soured with lemon juice or vinegar)
1/2 tsp. soda
1 cup yellow corn meal
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup flour


Melt butter and add it to sugar and yogurt and beat well, a hand mixer will be fine.
Add eggs and mix again.
Add milk, soda, and salt, stir into egg mixture.
Add corn meal,  white flour last, and do not overmix.

Bake in muffin tins at 375 degrees for 17 minutes.

Yield: 12 muffins


This is taking a recipe that called for 1/2 cup of butter and trimming it down quite a bit by using plain yogurt.  I have also used applesauce as well. They taste just as good as the fattening variety, and are much better for you.
Because a lot of the fat is gone, I would suggest you use pan spray instead of liners.  I lost a lot of my muffins to the wrapper when I recently made these.
Don't over-fill muffins cups. Fill 2/3 cups full. 

Pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting (low fat)

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup plain yogurt
Beat until lemon colored (5 minutes)

Add and mix
2 cups cooked pumpkin

Sift together:
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups flour
Mix until blended

Bake in a 10"x15" jelly roll pan at 350 for 20 minutes. Pan should be greased and floured.
Cool in pan.

Frosting
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
4 Tablespoons butter, softened
3 cups confectioner's sugar
2 tsp. vanilla

Blend cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spread over top. Cut into bars.

I think everyone probably has a version of this recipe. It turns out great everytime, but I doubled the frosting. It never seemed like enough to cover the cake. If you are traveling you may want to refrigerate this, just to keep the frosting firm. Doesn't it get you excited for fall, to see pumpkin recipes? It does me.

I've taken the fat out of the cake, but I guess I put it back in the frosting.  I tried though, I really tried.

Pumpkin Cookies

1 large (32oz.) can of pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
3 cups sugar
1 ripe banana
1/2 cup plain yogurt or applesauce
Cream very well.

Add:
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. soda
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
A sprinkling of nutmeg
A sprinkling of cloves

Mix again then add:
6 and 1/2 cups of flour
Mix until flour is incorporated.

Add 1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

Yes, you heard it right. This recipe is low-fat! These are spongy cookies that freeze very well and make for a great treat for a school lunch. You can feel good about eating two, three, maybe even four of these babies.

The original recipe calls for 5 cups of flour but with the extra yogurt and banana it is just too wet. I bumped it up to six but seven is way too much, so be careful you don't over-do your flour. I've done it many times and they get a bit too chewy.
This makes 80 cookies.