Pumpkin Bread - An Annual Tradition

Attention! Fall color has arrived in south-central Texas!

Really.

Y'all, this doesn't always happen, so when it does, it's something to celebrate. And I am loving every minute of it.

A week or two ago I was lamenting the fact that I'm unable to make my annual batch of pumpkin bread because my massive mixing bowl and small loaf pans are in storage.

Well, things are still in storage, but since this is the time when I usually make said pumpkin bread, I thought we'd go ahead and revisit one of my all-time favorite recipes.

I think I've been making this particular recipe for almost twenty years now and its yield has served as many a teacher or hostess gift.

I love to see my freezer full of these plastic and foil wrapped bundles of joy.

To start with, you're gonna need A REALLY BIG BOWL. I have a commercial size one I use for this recipe. You can mix by hand or use an electric mixer. I usually break out my electric hand mixer since this bowl will in no way, shape or form fit under my Kitchen Aid stand mixer.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups (that's 4 1/2 sticks) butter (I use unsalted)
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon molasses
• 6 cups sugar
• 12 eggs (told you it was big)
• 2 cups orange juice (the OJ was AWOL during the group photo)
• 6 cups pumpkin puree (that's 2 - 29 oz. cans)
• 10 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground cloves
• 3  cups raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter, molasses, and sugar until light and fluffy. 

Mindy tip: Molasses has the consistency of tar, so I spray my measuring cup/spoon with some cooking spray before measuring the molasses. Just a little bit means all of the molasses releases into the bowl and I'm not scraping out what refuses to let go of the utensil.

Beat in eggs, one at a time, until light and lemon colored. (I don't know, does this look like lemon to you?)

Add orange juice and pumpkin and mix well.

Sift dry ingredients together into another large bowl and add to pumpkin mixture, stirring well to thoroughly  combine all elements. (I use my mixer as long as I can, but switch to a spoon as it thickens and, frankly, is too deep for the mixer to properly blend)

Stir in raisins.

WARNING: If you are a person who likes to sample batter, regardless of the threat of raw eggs, this stuff is addicting. Just sayin'.

Spoon batter into greased loaf pans and bake for 1 hour, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Since I use the smaller pans, they only bake for about 35-40 minutes.

You can see that the pans I use are often varied. However, since this picture was taken several years ago, I believe I have finally replaced all of the foil pans with metal ones. Though they served me well for many years. 

When a toothpick inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean, remove from oven and cool in pans for 10 minutes.

Turn out onto racks to cool completely.

Aren't they cute? It's like a bread nursery.

Once they've cooled, I wrap them in plastic wrap, then foil and store them in the freezer. They keep for months. As I mentioned earlier, though, these make great gifts for neighbors, co-workers, teachers, and whoever you want to know you're thankful for them.

For a really nice presentation, simply place the unwrapped bread (sometimes I leave the clear plastic wrap on) into a cellophane bag and tie with some raffia or a pretty ribbon.

Easy peasy.

So the other night, I'm getting ready for bed and Dixie, our golden retriever was crashed behind me. Enter Maddie, our high-energy pup.

She sniffs her sister, then curls up right beside her.

Now how cute is that?

One of those things I just had to share.

Now it's your turn.

What are some of your favorite thinking-of-you gifts to give?

  

Mindy Obenhaus lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, the youngest of her five children and two dogs. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com  

Celebrating October with Pumpkin Cake, Nature and Progress on the Big House

October has arrived and you know what that means. It’s officially pumpkin season, one of my favorite times of the year. I love almost anything pumpkin, yet we’ve been so busy with things at the big house that autumn’s arrival almost escaped me until I saw all the pumpkins at the grocery store. Of course, the 90 degree temps don’t exactly make it feel like fall. Still, the cooler nights have the wildflowers peeking out to say hello.

The calves are getting a little more mischievous, too.

Do these guys look like they’ve been busted or what?

"Who, me?"

And the sunrises are just gorgeous.

But about that pumpkin cake.

This is a recipe I’ve shared before, but it’s too good not to share again.

Here's what you'll need.

For the cake:

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup pumpkin puree (not to be confused with pumpkin pie filling)

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp. cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice ***see note in instructions below***

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

For the frosting:

1/4 cup cream cheese

2 Tbs. softened butter

3/4 cup confectioners sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, then grease a square baking pan. 8 x 8 or 9 x 9, whatever you have.

Next, mix together your sugar and eggs at medium speed for about two minutes.

Add the pumpkin and oil.

And mix until blended.

Now add your flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and...

Wait for it...

Instead of adding the cinnamon/pumpkin pie spice,

I MADE A SLIGHT CHANGE THAT SENT THIS CAKE OVER TOP.

I love spices, but I am not a fan of pumpkin pie spice. The flavors always seem flat to me, so when I'm making my pumpkin pie, I always go with the cinnamon, ginger and cloves measurements listed on the Libby's Pumpkin Puree can. Then I discovered a recipe for making your own pumpkin pie spice over at My Baking Addiction (recipe here).

OH. MY. WORD.

This blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and cloves was the perfect addition to this cake and is now a staple in my kitchen.

***I ADDED 1 1/2 TEASPOONS INSTEAD OF THE RECOMMENDED 1 TEASPOON.***

Okay, so beat those ingredients in at low speed for one minute.

Pour into your pan.

Bake 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Since I was using and 8 x 8 pan it took a little longer.

Cool on rack.

For the frosting, mix together your cream cheese and butter until well blended.

Then, with your mixer on low speed, add the confectioners sugar and blend well.

Then beat in your vanilla.

Oops. Looks like someone was a little eager to dig in.

Moist, delicious, pumpkin perfection.

Oh, I cannot wait to make this again. I'm guessing that may just happen this week, regardless of how warm it is outside.

So continue to progress at the big house.

The painting is ongoing.

But tiling in the master bathroom is now complete.

And I have a real floor in my office.

You know, our dogs have really been a source of entertainment since we moved. They absolutely love being outdoors, because they just never know what they might encounter.

Whatever went into these woods got Dixie’s attention.

Because she stayed there forever.

Now it’s your turn.

What does fall mean to you? Pumpkins, apples or something entirely different?

And the big question, what do you think Dixie saw in those woods?

Mindy Obenhaus lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, the youngest of her five children and two dogs. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com  

Tarte Tatin, a Fall tradition!

Hello, everybody!! Mary Jane is back with one of our traditional Fall recipes. We're gearing up for the balloon stampede here.

                                           
The Walla Walla Balloon Stampede is a forty year old tradition where balloonists come from all over the world to float the bright blue skies of Eastern Washington. This will be our fifth year crewing, which means we get up long before dawn, work fast and hard to get the balloons inflated, and then either help the school kids get a chance to get in the basket, or send them off on a beautiful ride over the wheat fields!

 We have so many wonderful memories...

 

 This was a special IMAX movie made at a vineyard. They tethered the balloons above the vineyard and spent a few hours getting sunrise and early morning video. It was kind of funny because as the drone went by, my kids had to crouch in the basket so they weren't seen.

 This was one morning last May when we'd had a cold snap. There was frost on the ground and we weren't even sure they balloons would be able to go up, but by the time the sun rose, it was warm enough for them to lift off!

 

A funny thing happened this year: the organizers said that they needed a design for their Tshirts, and they wanted it made with a specific piece of clip art. The prize was a jacket and a balloon ride for two (worth $500) My artistic sixteen year old jumped at the chance... and won! The people who chose the art had no idea it was a person who'd been crewing for the stampede for years, so when we showed up... Surprise! LOL. It's a fun twist to a family tradition...  Our usual crewing shirts will be her design. :D

 

Oh, before I forget, be sure to stop by Seerkerville on the fourth of October where I talk about the "Ten Ways Seekerville Made me a Better Writer"!

 

 

Anyway,  this is what we're up to... besides Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, WW Choral Society, sports, service projects, church classes, First Communion classes, learning to drive, getting driver's licenses, checking out colleges, taking SAT and PSATs, being an RCIA sponsor, setting up etsy stores, and youth group... ETC. (I'm forgetting something. I know I am.) But we still find time to cook!!

 

 

On to the Tarte Tatin!!

1)  France. Specifically, the city of Lyon. I didn't live there but I lived in a town like it, about forty minutes away, toward Troyes.

 

 

 

2) These apples. You can't really celebrate Fall without apples. You can eat them raw, or caramel apples or.... well, you can see all the ways from the cartoon we all remember of Johnny Appleseed, Disney version here!

 

3) Chuck Norris. I read a really funny Chuck Norris joke. (Hi, Jimmy!) You know, those ones like "the boogey man checks under his bed for Chuck Norris" and "Chuck Norris doesn't dial the wrong number, you answer the wrong phone" and "Chuck Norris has a grizzly bear rug in his bedroom; the bear isn't dead, it's just afraid to move".

Well, I read one that said, "When life gives Chuck Norris lemons, he makes an apple pie, and it's the best steak you'll ever eat."

 

I don't know why that struck me as SO FUNNY. But it did. And I started thinking about making an apple pie that wasn't a pie. We've had apple pie here twice lately and but I still have lots of apples and lots of hungry, dessert-loving kids!

 

 

 

So, that brings us to Tarte Tatin!

If you're not sure how to pronounce it, here's the phonological description:\ˌtär(t)-tä-ˈtan, -ˈtaⁿ\

Oh, that's not helpful? Well, I guess we all can't have linguistics degrees, I suppose. (OW! Julie just poked my ego with a sharp stick! Fine...)  I kept saying it to my husband until he told me, "That sounds like the end of a song." HA! Okay, true. Dun dun-DUN.

 

Anyway, moving on!

You'll need:

 

For the filling-

8 TBS butter

3/4 cups sugar

6-8 apples

 

For the crust-

1 stick plus 2 TBS butter

2 TBS sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cup flour

pinch of salt

2-3 TBS of cold water

 Like so. What a pretty bowl! It's had an adventurous life so far. Something about a very friendly dog...

 Two eggs from the chicken coop. And a walnut. Not sure why that was brought to me when I asked for two eggs, but kids are funny that way.

 Make a well with the flour, salt, sugar. Add in the eggs and the butter.

 Mix with your fingers. Ok, if Chuck Norris can do it, we can, too! (Don't even ask if he can rub eggs into flour without feeling squicked out. He's CHUCK NORRIS.)

 Add cold water a TBS at a time until the dough forms a ball. Wrap it in plastic and put it in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes. It seemed like it was an awful lot of dough for crust. I mean, it's actually just one crust, not even two and it's the size of a kitten. And heavy. (Hold me, Chuck! I'm scared I'm doing this all wrong!)

 Add the butter and sugar in a cast iron pan.

 Stir as the butter melts. (Or employ a child to stir so you can go check your e-mail and read more Chuck Norris jokes.) Medium high heat seems way too hot for this, but this is really the way to go. Stay the course approximately 15 minutes. We're trying to get...

 Caramel. YUMMY. Resist the urge to eat it out of the pan. For one, it's SUPER HOT. Two, we need it.

 Chop apples in half. Skin and core. Layer onto the caramel. (Like how I said that so fast? As if chopping 8 apples takes only a few seconds? That is the genius of a food blog, my friends.)

 Now, several recipes did NOT mention this, but one did, and it was from an actual FRENCH recipe site. (I'm assuming they know what they're doing.) They said add 2 TBS of lemon juice. Sounded good to me. I'm pretty sure it's not so the apples won't turn brown. Boil the apples for 15 minutes on high, turning once.

 It probably seems like a recipe for a disaster. (ha! Recipe! Get it?) Boiling sugar on high for 15 minutes without really stirring?? But, don't wimp out and turn down the heat. The apples will cook more slowly if you do, and then you'll have a huge sticky mess clumped to the bottom of your pan.

 Take the dough out of the fridge and roll out it, so that it's  a couple inches bigger than the diameter of your  pan. (It actually wasn't that much dough so I told Chuck Norris to buzz off. He was getting a little clingy, anyway. I mean, once you've seen a few of those karate moves, you've seen them all, right?) Preheat the oven to 375F.

 Turn off the heat and let it cool for ten minutes. Tuck the crust around the top of the apples but be careful not to burn your fingers. Even thought it's been cooling, these pans stay hot, hot, hot. I have to admit, at this point I was wondering if something had gone wrong. This looked like an apple pie's ugly barbaric cousin.

 Cook about 35 minutes or until the top is browned. (Now I was really sure I'd screwed it up. I was already thinking, "Hm, I wonder what else I can make with all these apples.")

Cool for approximately 20 minutes and invert. You can slip a plate on the top and flip the whole thing over, but that takes some muscle. I actually did a slow slide, turning the Dutch oven until the pie turned gently onto a plate. I had to replace a few apples but it saved my wrists. (And you KNOW how I watch those wrists! These are my writing hands! Must... save... the hands....)

 SHOCKER! It looked so pretty! I was very surprised at how beautiful it was!

 I cut a piece and admired it some more. It held its shape but wasn't tooth-breakingly hard. The apples had softened the caramel and the caramel had seeped into the apples and the crust was like a very sticky cookie, but a bit flaky, too.

 Another shot of the goodness....
I was thinking it didn't quite taste like the Tarte Tatin I remembered from France. I thought it could have used some cardamom or cinnamon or vanilla or... something. But I searched and searched and no recipe ever mentioned any other ingredients (well, unless it was some crazy SoHo New York City one that needed goat cheese and pistachios). So, it's probably just how the memory is better than the reality. Even though the reality is AWESOME.

And here is a last shot of what was left after ten minutes. Mmmm-hmmmmm.
I'll leave you with one more Chuck Norris joke:

 

Chuck's gmail account address is:

gmail@chucknorris.com

 

This took me a second. I assume you'll get it a little faster since I'm overdosed on Tarte Tatin!

 Until next time!