Toasted Walnut Carrot Bread

This bread is SO right up my fall-baking alley -- it is delicious and fairly nutritious, filled with carrots, applesauce, and toasted walnuts! I got the recipe from the Boulder Weekly's Dessert Diva's column, but I skipped the cream cheese frosting. While I'm sure that would also be great, I wasn't in the mood for super-sweet (that doesn't happen often...), and this bread really works well as a breakfast bread, or a not overly-sweet dessert (especially with a little butter and a glass of ice-cold almond milk...yum!)

Toasted Walnut Carrot Bread

1 3/4 cup flour (I used 1/2 AP and 1/2 spelt)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup toasted walnuts


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg in bowl. Set aside.

In large bowl, mix eggs and brown sugar, add in apple sauce and vanilla, stir until well combined. Fold in carrots that have been peeled and grated.

Combine flour mix with carrot mixture and stir well. Fold in walnuts, reserving a tablespoon to put on top.

Spread mixture into prepared pan and sprinkle on reserved walnuts. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Take out and let cool.