pumpkin bread – Dragonfly Home Recipes

Pumpkin puree and finely chopped apple slices keep this bread naturally moist, while cinnamon and cloves give it that classic, comforting taste and aroma. What better way to savor fall than to bake with apple and pumpkin? And it is a bonus to have a bread that is sweet enough to be considered a treat, yet wholesome enough to be considered a hearty, healthy snack. The recipe makes two loaves, so keep one loaf and give the other away, or keep both loaves!

I adapted this recipe from one I found in my Hollyhocks & Radishes cookbook by Bonnie Stewart Mickelson. Since I did not have quite as much pumpkin puree as the recipe called for, I added some chopped apple slices to make up the difference, and the combination is delicious. It is a very mild bread, and my husband, who is not a huge fan of a strong pumpkin flavor, prefers this adaptation. My kids love it too, as do some of their friends (I often pack extra in their lunches so they can share).This past few days the weather has really turned, and it has been chilly and breezy outside. It is dark earlier in the evenings, and dark when I take the kids to school in the mornings. Suddenly the inside of the home becomes more appealing, and we spend more time inside. We crave cozy things like baking bread, hot tea and blankets, soft lamps and candles. I get to wear my favorite rain boots out and about, and tromp around in the woods taking pictures of the colorful leaves before they fall, and as they fall.

I was leafing through a cookbook the other day and saw a recipe for ice pops. When I saw it, I realized how far away summer seems now! Instead of dreaming up fun flavor combinations for homemade ice pops, after a busy day spent going all kinds of different directions, nowadays we are sitting down in the evenings with a cup of hot tea. Even my kids are getting into drinking herbal tea, and I love using that as an excuse to drink a cup with them and try to find out what’s going on in their lives, though I don’t think I ever really find out as much as I’d like to. This pumpkin apple bread goes perfectly with tea, by the way.

I hope you all have a great weekend! Stay warm and cozy! I am sharing this recipe over at Angie’s Fiesta Friday, co-hosted this week by Judi @ cookingwithauntjuju and Maggie @ Spoon in a Saucepan.

Pumpkin Apple Bread

Servings: two loaves
Time: about 20 minutes of prep time and 1 hour of baking time
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Ingredients:

2/3 cup of unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup of light brown sugar
1 and 2/3 cups of white granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 and 1/2 cups of pumpkin puree (if you prefer to use all pumpkin and no apple, just use 2 cups of pumpkin puree)
1/2 cup of apple, peeled and finely chopped
2/3 cup of water
3 and 1/2 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1 and 1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of ground cloves
1 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease two 9 x 5 inch loaf pans.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and the sugars. In a small bowl, beat the eggs and then add them to the butter/sugar mixture. Add the pumpkin, chopped apple, and water. Stir well until thoroughly combined.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and ground cloves. Stir with a fork until well combined. Stir the dry ingredients into the bowl with the pumpkin mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Fold in the nuts, if you are using them.

Pour the batter into the greased loaf pans, distributing the batter evenly between the two pans. Bake in your 350-degree oven for about one hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.

Let the bread cool for about 10 minutes in the pans, then gently turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

This recipe is adapted from one found in Hollyhocks & Radishes by Bonnie Stewart Mickelson.

“I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion.” –Henry David Thoreau

There is something so beautiful, yet so humble about pumpkins. They are all unique in size and shape, and their deep orange color is energizing and appealing. They are inexpensive and at least around here, they are overflowingly plentiful. I drive by a big field full of ripe pumpkins almost every day. As the grass and trees fade to shades of browns and grays, the pumpkins glow bright orange in comparison. I know there are a lot of pumpkin recipes floating around right now, but it’s pumpkin season. So I am going to add this pumpkin bread recipe to the pumpkin conversation. What makes this recipe stand out to me is there is no oil or butter in it. The bread is incredibly moist, but the moistness comes from the applesauce and pumpkin puree. I am always on the lookout for appealing cookbooks to explore and new recipes to try. I checked out a really great book from our tiny but wonderful local library, called Beyond the Mediterranean Diet: European Secrets of the Super-Healthy by Layne Lieberman. This book was published in 2013 and is full of inspiring advice on living a high-quality lifestyle, and it has recipes to try as well (and pretty photos–I really like a book about food to have appealing photos). The recipe for pumpkin bread below comes from this book. I found this bread to be truly both enjoyable and healthy, with the pumpkin seeds on top being a fun addition. My sweet son and his good friend came home ravenous from school yesterday, and they pounced on this pumpkin bread immediately. They both gave it a thumbs-up, and decided it tasted like pumpkin pie without the crust. A pretty sweet way to sneak in a vegetable and a fruit.

Pumpkin Spice Quick Bread

Servings: 12
Time: about 20 minutes preparation, plus about 40 minutes baking time
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Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 ounces (1/2 cup) unsweetened applesauce
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups pumpkin puree (canned or fresh–I used a 14 ounce can)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (optional)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and spices. In a separate large bowl, whisk together applesauce, eggs, pumpkin puree and vanilla. Slowly fold the wet ingredients into the dry ones; combine, but don’t over mix.

Lightly grease a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan (or a shallow 8-inch baking pan) with cooking spray. Pour the batter into the baking dish and sprinkle with optional pumpkin seeds if desired. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, checking for doneness. (Bread is done when the top begins to crack and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.) Let cool for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen. Enjoy!