I made this bread using half pumpkin and half pureed sweet potato because it was what I had on hand. This moist and sweet quick bread was delicious. I’m sure it would be equally good with all pumpkin or with another winter squash substituted (I’ve also made bread with acorn and butternut squash). In my cookbook, this recipe was labeled as “spiced” pumpkin bread, and while I thought the amount of spice was perfect I’d recommend increasing the spices if you want something with a more pronounced spice flavor.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin – (I used 7 ounces of pumpkin and 8 ounces of sweet potato)
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 stick (8 tbsp.) unsalted butter – melted and cooled
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped coarsely
- 1 cup dried cranberries
Directions:
1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle portion and heat the oven to 350°. Grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan.
2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and ginger together in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk the pumpkin, sugar, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla together until smooth. Gently fold pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined (do not overmix). Gently fold in the pecans and cranberries. The batter will be very thick.
3. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached, 45 to 55 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. (My loaf took the full 55 minutes to cook).
4. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and let cook for 1 hour before serving.
