I must admit – I did something both terrible and wonderful. The terrible part is that I dared to change a Baked recipe. The wonderful part is that it came out delicious!

I only made two minor substitutions: coconut oil instead of vegetable oil and walnuts instead of chocolate chips. I made the substitutions because I have lots of coconut oil to use and because I really wanted to make pumpkin walnut bread! Oh, and I halved the recipe because the original made two loaves and I only wanted one. However, I had an entire can of pumpkin, minus only 1/4 of a cup, and I used all of it. So I guess that’s a third substitution, in a way.

Oh, and I JUST discovered an accidental substitution – the original recipe says to add water to the mixture, but I just plain missed that step. Oops!

But I did something right, because the result is moist and soft with the walnuts providing a nice amount of texture. It also has the perfect pumpkin taste that is not too overwhelming . Perhaps the coconut oil mellowed the pumpkin a little? Basically, it’s perfect for pretending that it’s not cake and eating for breakfast.

I’ve never posted an actual recipe on here before, but I’m going to this time because I’m proud of my creation and I think that everyone should make it! Plus, it’s easy. No mixer required!

Pumpkin Walnut Bread
adapted from the book Baked 

1/2  cups plus 2 tbsp flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 15-oz can pumpkin puree (as noted above, I used slightly less, but I would just use the whole thing if you have it)
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter and flour a loaf pan; set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, baking soda and salt.

In another large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin and oil until combined. Add the sugar and whisk again. Whisk the eggs into the mixture one at a time, then the vanilla. With a spatula, stir in the walnuts.

Fold the dry ingredients into the wet; don’t overmix. Pour batter into pan, using the spatula to smooth the top.

Bake in the center of the oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes. Invert the loaf onto the rack and cool completely.

***

If you make it, don’t forget to let me know how it comes out!

The beautiful photos seen in this post are courtesy of a talented friend who agreed to work for cupcakes! Hopefully soon, I will be redoing this site with tons of pictures!