Spiced Pumpkin Beer Bread (w/ Cinnamon Whipped Cream)

By now, you all have probably picked up on my love of breads. BUT boy, was I in for a treat with this one. Yes, you read the title right: pumpkin AND beer. Could fall GET any better than slightly sweet, spiced, dense, pumpkin-y bread?? Ummm, no way. The bread has a subtle beer taste, but best of all, the beer gives the bread a wonderfully moist texture. I used a Pumpkin Ale (not pictured), but you can use whatever you like! I would suggest an ale or something similar.

A friend of mine invited me over for dinner the day I made this bread, so I thought this would also be nice as a sweet end to the meal (it was!). When I got there, I whipped up some Cinnamon Whipped Cream to make it slightly more decadent/desserty. It was pretty divine. It's not pictured, but I've also included the recipe for the whipped cream, if you want to go that route! This would also be lovely with a big ol' scoop of vanilla ice cream. Oooh, that sounds soo good right now. May need to go make some more...

Zucchini-Oat & Raisin Bread

And my last bread (for now), I promise! I like to think of this bread as a compromise between the last two. Not quite as healthy as my Zucchini-Flax Bread, but with a lot more nutritional value than my Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip Banana Bread. It's still really yummy -- if you like a super dense, slightly sweet bread, then this is definitely for you! For a filling breakfast, a mid-afternoon snack, or even for "dessert," you can easily make this the night before and share, or eat on it yourself for a couple days and freeze the rest. Time for some more carbs... Oh yes...

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Onto the next bread! And for some contrast, here is the most decadent of the three. :)

My last day at the firm I was working for the second half of the summer, I knew I needed to make something. When you have a food blog, people expect these things. Now, don't get me wrong, I love doing it, but there's always the worry of keeping the people happy. I decided that two types of bread would be a nice treat, so I made this bread, and also another -- my next bread post. This one was a big hit, because well, there are chocolate chips in it. And peanut butter. So, yeah, it's really yummy, but without being as sweet and heavy as something like a cake. Yes, there is some sugar, but, there is also some whole wheat flour and bananas... so, let's call it a compromise.

Also, I realized I haven't been including a printable recipe in my last few posts. I made sure to do so this time, just click on "Printable Recipe." In the next few days I'll update my previous posts with one as well. Now, onto the good stuff... 

Zucchini-Flax Bread

Just warning y'all, I have gone a little nutty (or bread-y) baking breads lately. This is one of three I made the past week, so if you're feeling bread-y too, get excited, because there will be more coming at ya soon! 

This is the healthiest of the breads that I made. It contains zero butter AND zero oil... yes, you heard me... AND it's still incredibly moist. The moistness comes from the banana, apple sauce, and zucchini featured in the bread. It's also quite dense from the whole wheat flour, walnuts, and ground flax -- which makes for a perfect breakfast bread -- not too sweet, hearty, and there is a ton of nutrition packed into one slice!  I was a little skeptical about the ground flax, but was pleased to find that HEB had two different varieties in the store (one in the baking aisle, and one by the vitamins/health foods), so hopefully it shouldn't be too difficult for anyone to find. And, you'll be glad you did -- it's full of Omega-3's and fiber, so use the extra to sprinkle over cereal, yogurt, oatmeal, and such! Or just bake more bread...