Two years ago at age three, Olivia declared herself allergic to fruits and vegetables. This has forced me to get very sneaky in the kitchen. I can usually trick her into eating all sorts of things as long as they’re hidden in a muffin. Grated yellow squash, zucchini, apples, carrots – you’d be amazed at what you can get away with. I’ve had loads of requests for the whole-wheat pumpkin bread I slipped past her last week. Both of the recipes below came from King Arthur Whole Grain Baking, a killer cookbook with easy recipes for everything from pizza dough to waffles. I usually tweak whatever recipe I’m working with, but I’ve copied these exactly as they appear in the book. Pumpkin Bread 2 cups (8 oz) whole-wheat flour or white whole-wheat flour 1 tsp baking soda ½ tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt ½ tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp ground cloves ¼ tsp ground nutmeg ½ cup (1 stick, or 4 oz) unsalted butter 1 cup (7 1/2 oz) brown sugar ¼ cup (1 ¾ oz) granulated sugar 3 large eggs 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup (9 ½ oz) canned pumpkin ¾ cup (4 ½ oz) chopped nuts OR dried cranberries OR chocolate chips Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9x5 loaf pan. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, spices, in a medium bowl. Cream together the butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, stopping to scrape the sides and bottom of bowl. Beat in the vanilla and pumpkin. Add the dry ingredients, mixing until evenly moistened. Stir in the nuts, berries, or chips. Pour the batter into a prepared pan. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 1 hour. Remove the bread from the oven and place it on the rack to cool for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, run a table knife around the edges if the pan to make sure the bread isn’t sticking, turn out of the pan, and place it on the rack to finish cooling completely before slicing.

Golden Cinnamon-Pumpkin Bars These have a texture very similar to brownies... ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks, 6 oz) unsalted butter 1 1/3 cups (10 oz) packed light or dark brown sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract ¾ tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt 2 tsp ground cinnamon ¾ ground ginger ¼ ground cloves ¼ tsp ground allspice 1 large egg 1 cup (9 ½ oz) canned pumpkin 1 ½ cups (6oz) whole-wheat flour 1 cup (6oz) cinnamon chips 1 cup (5 ¼ oz) loosely packed golden raisins or dried cranberries Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan. Melt the butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl or in a saucepan over low heat, then add the sugar and stir to combine. Return the mixture to the microwave (or heat) briefly, until it’s hot and starting to bubble. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and allow it to cool until you can comfortably test it with your finger. Beat in the vanilla, baking powder, salt, and spices. Add the egg, beating until smooth and scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl. Stir in the pumpkin, flour, chips and dried fruit, mixing thoroughly. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake the bars until a sharp knife inserted in the center reveals moist crumbs, 40-45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack.