Maple-Glazed Pumpkin Bread with Coconut Sugar

Even though this week, there’s a small heat wave in our area, I’m still focusing on enjoying the transition to fall. As part of that, I had to make something with pumpkin and pumpkin bread is definitely a favorite of mine. This pumpkin bread is super simple to make - all you need are two bowls! Another plus is that it’s naturally sweetened with coconut sugar.

As a refresher or for those who might be unfamiliar, coconut sugar is the dehydrated and boiled sap of the coconut palm flower. Because coconut sugar goes through minimal processing, it retains many of its inherent antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals - especially in comparison to the standard granulated white or brown sugars, which are heavily processed. For those of you who may not be a big fan of coconut, I just want to note that the coconut sugar does not have a noticeable coconut flavor.

This recipe will not disappoint if you are looking for fall flavors plus a healthy alternative to processed sugars. Enjoy!

Makes one 9x5 loaf pan

Ingredients

• 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree

• 200 g coconut sugar

• 100 ml neutral oil (like canola or light-tasting olive oil)

• 2 eggs

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 230 g all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 110 ml milk

For the glaze:

• 2 tablespoons coconut sugar, grind finely in a coffee/spice grinder

• 1 tablespoon maple syrup (or slightly more to get the right consistency)

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 325 F. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.

3. In a large bowl, stir together the pumpkin puree, sugar, and oil. Next, stir in the eggs and vanilla extract. Add half of the dry ingredients, stir, add the milk, stir, and then stir in the rest of the dry ingredients.

4. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for about 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

5. Shortly before the bread is done baking, make your maple glaze by whisking together the maple syrup and powdered coconut sugar until the consistency is loose enough to be able to spoon on top of the bread (you don’t want it to be too firm but also don’t want it to be too liquid-y - aim for somewhere in the middle). Once you remove the bread from the oven, drizzle the glaze over the top. Let the bread cool completely before removing from the pan.