Germ’s Pumpkin Bread

This autumn/wintertime favorite of mine took quite a bit of trial and error to get right.  Dare I say it's still a work in progress, even after all these years.  (I even recently tweaked it a wee bit -- and then I also made muffins! But more about that later...)  I started with my banana bread recipe and tried it out with pumpkin...and quickly found out it's not an even swap.  My poor husband was such a good sport about it, gamely trying each iteration until I got it right.  And he's not even a huge pumpkin fan.  I did eventually get it right, even to the point where I sent loaves of these to friends & family as holiday gifts.

So here is the winner.  I hope you enjoy.  :)

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Ingredients:

Dry
2 C Flour (all-purpose)

1 C white sugar

¾ C dark brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1-2 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice

Liquid

2 whole eggs, slightly beaten

½ C melted butter (1 stick) or canola oil

⅔ C milk (can be substituted with soy milk)

15 oz. (1 can) plain mashed pumpkin

4 tsp vanilla extract

Prep:

Preheat oven to 350°.  Thoroughly grease (or spray w/cooking spray) 1 large, 2 medium-sized or 4 mini loaf pans

Directions:

Mix together flour, sugars, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice.  Add eggs, butter and milk.  Stir until everything is moistened, then add the mashed pumpkin; combine well.  Mix in the vanilla.  Pour into large loaf pan or divide mixture evenly between medium or mini loaf pans. 

Bake for at least 1 hour or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Can be served plain or frosted with cream cheese frosting, like so:

Makes about 12 servings.

High altitude:
Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes.

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GBAdams
01/06/2008