by Debbs Hammett
In this busy time of year, easy, delicious recipes are a blessing and I love this one for pumpkin bread. It makes two loaves so you can put one in the freezer for when friends drop by or give it as a gift! It’s just delicious with a cream cheese spread so a recipe for that follows. One last direction: after making this, sit down with a piece and your favorite hot beverage. Take a quiet moment to enjoy, reflect and thank the Lord for all His wondrous blessings in your life!
Pumpkin Cranberry Bread
Heat oven to 350 degrees
Yield: 2 Loaves
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
5 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoons salt
3 cups granulated sugar
1 (15oz.) can of solid pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup orange juice
1 cups craisins (dried cranberries)
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Directions:
Grease and flour 2 9×5 inch loaf pans
Combine the flour, spice, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Combine the sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil and orange juice in a mixer bowl and beat until blended. Add the pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture in the large bowl and stir just until moistened. Stir in the craisins and nuts. Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pans.
Bake for 60 to 65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the pans and place on cooling rack to cool the rest of the way. *Hint: If you don’t have a cooling rack, place the loaves on their side to cool. This helps them not to fall in the center.
Cream Cheese Spread:
This spread goes wonderfully with this bread!
Mix one 8oz. package of softened cream cheese with about 1 cup packed brown sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. (Taste to see if it’s sweetened to your liking, you can add more sugar if you like.)
Enjoy!
If you choose to give these as gifts to friends or family this Thanksgiving you could include a card with this verse from Philippians as an added blessing!
“I thank my God every time I remember you.” Philippians 1:3
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I never realized why you were suppose to cool bread on a cooling rack until a read your tip about placing it on its side if you didn’t have one so it wouldn’t fall in the middle. Now i know why my bread always does that! I am going to have a loaf baking in the oven when my son comes home from college Tuesday for Thanksgving break. Nothing says you’re home like the smell of bread baking in the oven – and when he smells those aromas i always want him to think of home, where ever he may be!