Pumpkin Yogurt Loaf with Maple Carmel Sauce and Greek Yogurt

Product was provided for this post by Stonyfield Yogurt but opinions of product are my own. I just joined Stonyfield Yogurts Yogetter's group for bloggers who care about feeding their families the healthiest yogurt available. Organic is ideal especially for dairy products. I also love that yogurt is lower in calories than butter and cream for baking. I have started to experiment with replacing higher calorie ingredients in my cooking with Stonyfield Yogurt. I love that yogurt is packed with nutrients like live and active cultures that aid in digestion along with calcium, vitamins D, B2 and B12, potassium and magnesium which are things that both my growing kids and my aging body need to stay healthy.

This month Stonyfield asked it's Yogetters to try and come up a traditional holiday recipe that substitutes yogurt for commonly used ingredients such as butter, oil, sour cream, mayonnaise etc. Stonyfield has a wonderful yogurt substitute guide on their website that makes conversions easy. The following is my light version of a pumpkin loaf that is not lacking in flavor, as a matter of fact, my kids goobled it down and didn't even notice that I had substituted yogurt for the sour cream that I usually put in this loaf. They were a little skeptical about topping it with greek yogurt instead of whipped cream, but the rich texture of greek yogurt didn't disappointment them at all.

Pumpkin Yogurt Loaf with Maple Carmel Sauce and Greek Yogurt

by Diane Balch simplelivingeating.com
Ingredients: For Pumpkin Bread: 2 cups of all purpose flour 1 cup of sugar 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda 15 ounces of pumpkin puree 1/4 cup of Stonyfield Plain Yogurt 2 eggs 4 tablespoons melted cooled unsalted butter 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

For Carmel Sauce: 1 stick butter 1 cup of brown sugar 1/2 maple syrup 1 tablespoon of bourbon 1 pinch of salt

Directions for Bread: 1) Melt butter for bread set aside to cool. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees with racks adjusted to middle. Grease a 9 inch bread loaf pan.
2) Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda together in a large mixing bowl.
3) Mix pumpkin puree, yogurt, eggs, vanilla extract and melted butter together in a medium size bowl.
4) Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Do not over mix.
5) Put bread batter into loaf pan. Do not smooth the top. Leaving ripples will create a nicer crust.
6) Bake for approximately 55 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then remove and let it cool on a wired rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Serve topped with Stonyfield Greek Yogurt and Carmel Sauce.

Directions for Sauce: 1) While the loaf is cooling. Heat a medium size non-stick skillet on medium high heat.
2) First add the butter and melt it completely, then add the rest of the ingredients for the sauce: sugar, maple syrup, bourbon and salt. Whisk until incorporated and let it come to a boil.
3) Reduce heat to low and continue to stir until the ingredients thicken and come to the consistancy you prefer.
This syrup can be stored in the refrigator all you have to do is heat it to get it back to a syrupy consistency.