Greek Yogurt Pumpkin Bread

If you have followed my blog for more than a year, you already know that every October/November I make something pumpkin-related.  Just to brush up you newbies: I hate pumpkin-spice lattes.  I also loathe nutmeg.  With that said, I do love pumpkin itself and things baked with pumpkin with less nutmeg than a recipe typically calls for.  I recently stumbled upon this recipe from Baking Bites.  Since I knew it was time for me to make my annual pumpkin something or other, I decided to do my own spin on this already great recipe.  Check it out below, make it for yourself, try not to eat it all in one sitting, and let me know what you think!

• Ingredients:
• 2 1/2 cups AP flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (I bumped up the cinnamon to cut back on the nutmeg)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I cut back on this ever so slightly because nutmeg = eww)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 whole eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (also added a bit more on this)
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling!)
• 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (I used Stop & Shop’s own brand but Fage and Chobani are also good)
• 1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1 tablespoon (or to your liking) Trader Joe’s chocolate & coffee ground sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly grease a 9×5 loaf pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together both sugars, eggs, and vanilla until well-combined.  Blend in pumpkin puree until mixture is smooth.  Stir in half of the flour mixture, followed by all of the yogurt.  Whisk in the remaining flour mixture and stir just until no streaks of dry ingredients remain.
4. Add in the melted butter (yes, this goes in toward the end) and whisk until the batter is smooth and uniform.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan and dust with ground sugar mixture (again I used Trader Joe’s but you can use whatever you prefer so long as it has a grinder on it).
6. Put that baby into the oven and bake for 55-60 minutes (depending on your oven), or until a cake tester (or toothpick) comes out clean.
7. Allow bread to cool in pan for 15 minutes then (carefully) transfer it to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.  I used a butter knife to cut between the edges of the loaf and the pan, then I shook it ever so gently, and plop it wound up on the wire rack.  Make sure it’s completely cool prior to cutting or it will fall apart as you slice it!

I’m really pleased with how this turned out.  The bread is delicious and very moist (probably thanks to the Greek yogurt).  The pumpkin flavor really shines through, rather than being drowned out by nutmeg.  And the color itself is stunning!  This is a great, quick, and easy bread to make.  Make sure to store it in an airtight container once it’s sliced to keep it fresh.  You can also slice then freeze it, if that tickles your fancy.  Perfect for the fall.