pumpkin christmas bread
Recipes

Pumpkin Christmas Bread
We don’t fuss with fancy breakfasts on Christmas. After all, there are more important jobs to attend to that morning, like opening presents. So at our house, we always have this pumpkin bread to nosh on. I’ve adapted this recipe from one I received from my friend Heather. The original made 3 loaves. I adjusted the quantities and spices to suit my taste and one loaf pan. Fair warning, the bread is highly addictive. It’s perfect spread with softened butter, or some fig jam, or softened cream cheese, or just plain nekkid.
Ingredients
- cooking spray
- 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 10 ounces pumpkin purée (just over a cup-full if you're measuring and not weighing)
- 1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans or walnuts, optional
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
Directions
- Heat the oven to 325°F. Spray one large (about 9-by-5-inch) loaf pan with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, mix the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. In another bowl, mix the pumpkin purée, pecans, if using, and oil.
- Add the pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture and stir well until smooth. (It's a thick batter!) Spoon into the prepared pan pan and lightly smooth out the top with a spatula.
- Bake for about 1 hours and 15 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out dry and clean. Let cool. It'll seem like the loaf doesn't want to come out; just give it a few good slaps on the bottom of the pan, and it'll come right out.
- If you'd like to make three large loaves, triple the ingredients, use a 29-ounce can of pumpkin purée, and mix in a great big bowl. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes. This triple recipe can make 7 mini loaves (6-by-3-inch mini loaf pans). Bake the mini loaves for 1 hour.