Pumpkin Bread for a Small Crowd

Happy New Year!

I share photos of our sunsets so often that I thought you'd like to see one of our sunrises. This is the view from the top of the hill behind our house. It's worth the climb!

But the problem with sunrises (and sunsets!) is that they don't last very long. In the few minutes it took for me to grab my camera and scoot up to this spot, the pink had faded. I'm just going to have to get up there earlier next time!

And now to today's recipe. First, a disclaimer. I love Mindy's "Pumpkin Bread for the Masses" (click here for that recipe,)  but sometimes it just isn't the right time to make it.

Case in point: Yesterday at church we had our usual New Year's fellowship instead of Sunday School. We normally have a small crowd on the last Sunday of December with families traveling to visit relatives, etc. And this year was no exception. My husband and I had volunteered to bring sweet breads (not sweetbreads) for part of the snacks and I planned on picking up a variety on Saturday.

Yup, you guessed it. On Saturday morning, there was nothing at the store but leftovers from Wednesday.

So I thought I'd make Mindy's pumpkin bread...and thought I remembered the recipe well enough to know we had all the ingredients at home.

But it was the day after Christmas. In my post-Christmas brain fog, I forgot that I could look up the recipe on my phone - duh! - and happily went home to make pumpkin bread.

When I looked up the recipe, alas! I was missing a couple key ingredients!

No worries. I went to my trusty 1980 Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook and made an old favorite. I doubled the recipe to make enough. This is the recipe for one loaf -

Pumpkin Loaf - Jan's version

ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup butter

2 eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/4 cup milk

optional:

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1/2 cup raisins

In a medium sized bowl, stir together the dry ingredients.

With your mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar together, then add the eggs one at a time. When everything is mixed well, add the pumpkin and the milk and mix well.

Add the flour mixture, about 1/2 cup at a time until all is smooth. If you want to add nuts and/or raisins, stir them in now.

Pour the batter into a 9x5x3 loaf pan and bake at 350° for 55-60 minutes, or until done.

My loaf pans are 8x4x3, so I put my double batch of batter into 3 pans, and baked them at 350° for 50 minutes.

Cool, then wrap. Wait until the next day before slicing (unless you just can't wait!)

How do you like your pumpkin bread? With or without nuts and/or raisins?

Jan Drexler has always been a "book girl" who still loves to spend time within the pages of her favorite books. She lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her dear husband of many years and their active, crazy dogs, Jack and Sam. You can learn more about Jan and her books on her website, www.JanDrexler.com.