Pumpkin Cornbread with Roasted Sunflower Seeds

Katie:  With the cool, rainy fall weather, I’ve been in the mood for soup lately.  To accompany the soups I’ve been making, I’ve tried out a few new bread recipes.  Since I enjoyed this recipe for Pumpkin Cornbread and this recipe for Whole Wheat Sunflower Bread, I decided something in-between might be even better.  The bread I came up with turned out pretty good.  It would probably go really well with chili.  I served it with this recipe for Pear Parsnip Soup, using the parsnips I found at the farmers market this weekend.  Here’s my recipe for the bread:

Pumpkin Cornbread with Roasted Sunflower Seeds

• 1/2 cup roasted and salted sunflower seeds*
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg and 2 egg whites (or 2 eggs)
• 1 cup pumpkin or squash puree
• 1/4 cup maple or agave syrup (next time I’ll try honey)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

*If you’re using raw sunflower seeds, toss them with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt and bake on a cookie sheet for about 10 minutes (or until slightly browned) in a 350 degree F oven. Let cool before incorporating into the bread batter.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x4x3 inch baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cornmeal in a medium mixing bowl.
3. Whisk together the eggs, pumpkin, oil, and syrup in a large bowl.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until just combined.  The batter will be thick. Fold in the sunflower seeds.
5. Pour batter into the prepared pan.  Bake for 35-40 minutes.  The bread should be lightly brown and a toothpick should come out clean.  Remove from oven and let rest in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
6. Enjoy!