Pumpkin Gingerbread {part 2}

I added frosting - tried it - and it was pretty good! It might have been a little strong for my taste - if I did it again I'd do less molasses and more sucanat. But the walnuts added a nice crunch and the frosting just gave it that classy edge that was nice. Oh, and my family loved it. :)

Spiced Buttercream Frosting
1 cup butter (I used Earth Balance 'butter' - it's totally vegan!)
1 cup sucanat
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp vanilla
almond milk - however much you need to make the frosting the consistency you wanted.

Step 1: Using a hand mixer, whip the butter.

Step 2: Slowly add the sucanat to the butter, and mix that in well.

Step 3: Add the spices and vanilla, continuing to mix. Add the milk as you need it - and voila!

Cover your gingerbread in the frosting, and eeeenjoy! 

Pumpkin Gingerbread

Mmmm. It definitely feels like fall outside. Sweaters, scarves, hot tea.... and pumpkin! Fall just isn't fall without making goodies with pumpkin. My brothers harvested one from our garden, and I proceeded to bake it into a lovely pan of gingerbread.

2 cups cooked pumpkin
6 TBSP pure maple syrup
1/2 cup sucanat (a healthier form of sugar)
1/2 cup coconut oil (healthier than olive oil - you could use that instead though)
1/2 cup black strap molasses
2 TBSP chia seeds + 6 TBSP water*
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp clove powder
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup walnuts

*Mix this together, and let sit in a bowl for 5 minutes. It will gum up and create a sticky substance to help hold your gingerbread together. If you don't have chia seeds, use flax seeds! And if you really feel like rebelling against healthy ways (haha), that would equal 2 eggs.

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Crush the walnuts up by hand and place on a baking sheet. Bake them (to nicely toast) for about 10 minutes.

Step 2: Mix all wet ingredients in a bowl (pumpkin, maple syrup, sucanat, coconut oil, molasses, and chia mix)

Step 3: Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl (flour, spices, salt, baking powder)

Step 4: Find a 9x13 baking pan and line it with parchment paper.

Step 5: Add the dry mix to the wet, and stir! Then add the walnuts, and stir some more!

Step 6: Pour into the pan, and bake for 60 minutes. Make sure a toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy! Later, I'll be posting an alternate to this recipe - one where you top it with a spiced buttercream frosting. If you want to stay more healthy, leave the frosting off, otherwise go for it! That post will include photos of the finished product.