Bourbon-Spiked Pumpkin Carrot Zucchini Spice Bread: Easy Recipe for the (non) Baker in You

This is baking for the non-baker. Never having really mastered the art of measuring, nor understanding the separating of dry and wet ingredients, this Thanksgiving-inspired moist bread-muffin-cake-pudding conglomerate is surprisingly simple and delicious. Better yet, measurements are loose, so if you happen to have a heavy hand with the whisky or are obsessed with the spice of cinnamon, your whimsy is welcomed!

And if that wasn't fantastic enough, it's completely vegan and healthy sans eggs, butter, or added sugar. The sweetness component naturally comes from the ingredients.

Not too sweet and not too savory, make this bourbon-spiked pumpkin carrot zucchini spiced magic for any occasion. Devour it to cap off your holiday spread, or dunk it in your coffee the morning after.

Cook Time: 1 hour

Serves: 10-12

Your loose framework of ingredients includes:

•  3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1-2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 2 cups unsweetened applesauce
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup shredded zucchini
• 2 cups of pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)
• 1/2 cup Bourbon
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• zest of one orange
• 1 1/2 cups of raisins and dried cranberries combined
• 1 tbsp of freshly grated ginger
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup crushed/sliced almonds (reserve some for garnish)

1. Preheat your oven at 350 degrees F.
2. Mix all of your gorgeous ingredients except the flour in a large bowl. Once that is well combined, add your flour a cup at a time, folding it in with a spatula. This is where your whimsy comes into play: If you want a soft pudding consistancy, one cup of flour will be enough. The more flour you add, you will move along the gradient from cake to muffin to bread. So take your pick and flour to your desire.
3. When you are content with your batter, pour it out into an oven-safe pan and sprinkle with reserved almonds and a bit more cinnamon. (Again, your desired final product dictates the pan. A bread pan will produce a lovely loaf for the slicing, while a wide shallow dish makes for a great pudding for the scooping or a jumbo muffin for the sectioning.)
4. Pop it in the oven for an hour, but check it with a toothpick for your desired texture.
5. Remove and let it cool before indulging.

It's easy as pie, but pie is the only thing it's not.