Pumpkin Pecan Bread with Chocolate Glaze

I started developing a recipe for pumpkin bars a few months ago with some of my pumpkin puree .  Unfortunately, the bars turned out too gooey and soft to be called bars, so I kept trying and tweaked my ingredients.  I had added a chocolate glaze to the top of them, and for my family, that was all they needed to give them a thumbs up, but I knew it was just the chocolate channeling through them.  So, as I fiddled with the ingredients, I thought I had come up with a winner.  However, this batch turned out more like pumpkin bread, but it was good pumpkin bread! I wondered if I should keep forging ahead with the idea of bars or just settle for good bread.  I decided good bread was good enough...for now.  I thought I would just give it to my family, as is, but the uproar for the chocolate glaze was deafening, so on the bread went the glaze.  I made two square loaves of bread and froze one for Christmas dessert.  If you also decide to freeze extras, just freeze the bread, and add the glaze before serving.  I also suggest rewarming the bread in the oven, instead of just serving after thawing. However, I noticed that my thawed out bread was drier than the one that was freshly made, so I would freeze with caution.

Pumpkin Pecan Bread with Chocolate Glaze

Here's a square of that yummy bread.  See those pecans nestled within?

Pumpkin Pecan Bread with Chocolate Glaze

Ingredients:

Non-stick spray 

Bread:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup oats
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 and 1/2 cups rice milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract.
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup whole pecans, chopped

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbs. cocoa
2 Tbs. soy milk

Directions:

For the bread:  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray an 8x8 pan with non-stick spray and set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients: the flour through the cinnamon.  Add the rice milk and vanilla and beat on medium speed with electric mixer until well blended.  Add the pumpkin and nuts and stir well with a spoon, until blended in.  Pour batter into pan.  Bake for 60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool pan on cooling rack. 

For the glaze:  When the bread is completely cooled, remove from pan and place on serving platter.  Mix together the glaze ingredients in a small bowl with a spoon.  Spread over bread.  Let firm up before cutting.  Very good.  Feeds five hungry vegans for a couple of days.