Whole Wheat + Pumpkin = Yummy and moderately good for you

I didn't used to be a fan of pumpkin. I turned my nose up at pumpkin pie. I'm still not sure I love it. Maybe I was scarred by my 2nd grade teacher having a thing for pumpkin pie. She used to say "Do I smell puuuuummpkin piiiiieeeee?" as she sniffed the heads of her pupils. Bizarre.
I do, however, like pumpkin flavor. Like the Green Mountain pumpkin spice coffee D and I drank on our honeymoon in Vermont. Ahh, Vermont. But, I digress. I have also never used canned pumpkin mush and only come face to face with the gourd on Halloween. But, I decided to buy some canned pumpkin to try out this recipe. I was craving something like a banana bread and that's exactly the texture of this. I liked the middle pieces the best, didn't really like the somewhat spongy texture of the heel, so I wouldn't suggest these as muffins. I made an oat and butter crumble for the top, but you could also use E's Pinkberry Frosting on top.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin-Applesauce Bread
Adapted from All Recipes Whole Wheat Pumpkin-Applesauce Muffins

• Ingredients
  
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2-3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice depending on how spicy you like it
  
• 2/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/3 cup white sugar (omit the white sugar if you want this to be healthier/less sweet)
  
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
  
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1/4 cup golden raisins (optional)
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)
• 
  
• Directions
• 
  
• Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a loaf pan with butter or a spray like Pam.
  
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice; set aside. Combine the brown sugar, white sugar, applesauce, pumpkin, vanilla, buttermilk, and beaten eggs and mix until well blended. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in the raisins and pecans, if desired.
• Place the batter in the loaf pan, making sure it's even and smoothing the top. If you're adding a crumble, put it on top of the batter now. Bake in the preheated oven until the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. This took me about 30 mins in a loaf pan, but I'd start checking it at 20 mins. Cool the bread on a wire rack before removing from the pan. Top with frosting if you're using that instead.
  

Easy Oat Crumble
2 tablespoons soft butter
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
¼ cup rolled oats

Combine the ingredients and crumble over the top of the dough. Press it lightly into the dough so it sticks as it bakes.

Elana's Pinkberry Frosting

This is E's Pinkberry frosting because it is made out of Greek-style yogurt and is still very tangy, like Pinkberry and all those other crazy non-sweet frozen yogurts out there. She says it goes great on top of banana bread or pumpkin bread. The Sour Cream Frosting of Doom incident a few years ago makes me a little skeptical, but E knows food, so I trust her.

Elana's Pinkberry Frosting
1 cup Greek yogurt (Fage is best)
A good splash of vanilla extract (I used 1 t)
1/2 cup powered sugar

1. Whisk all ingredients until they become a bit thick.
2. Place in the fridge to thicken even more (at least 30 minutes -
ideally overnight).
3. Spread on cake or cupcakes.