The Well-Sourced Life

It’s that time of year again where I find myself adding a little cinnamon, a little nutmeg & allspice to everything – my morning latte, my cinnamon swirl bread and DEFINITELY this homemade pumpkin bread, which I’ve been craving already several times this season.

Fall & winter is the season for spices, and if the principal aroma in the house isn’t some kind of warm vanilla, cinnamon nutmeg, or pine tree candle then I’m just not here for it. 

The central valley has been magically foggy every morning, which makes it feel like Christmas already. Why is it that fog makes the grass look SO green, and the bright red, orange and yellow leaves that fall on the ground just POP like we all of the sudden live in another place that isn’t sunny, warm California?!  

Anyway. It’s a beautiful time of year (maybe my favorite). But this time of year calls for the best, moist, perfectly sweet & cinnamon-y, pumpkin-y recipes you can find.

That is this recipe. 

There are a couple of ways to do this – obviously, the best and most authentic way is to make it from real pumpkin. Not the big 10lb pumpkins that you carve for Halloween, but the mini ones – they’re sweeter and actually called “pie pumpkins” since that’s really what they are best for!

BUT – If you are a mom of 12, or 5, or 2 kids (like me) and you just want that pumpkin bread perfection, but don’t have time to go baking an actual pumpkin and making your own puree? Fear not. This recipe is DELICIOUS without the home-baked pumpkin, so you can use store bought pumpkin pie puree to your heart (& schedule)’s content. 

BEST EVER SPICED PUMPKIN BREAD RECIPE

Prep Time	10 MINUTES
Cook Time	55 MINUTES
Total Time	1 HR 5 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS: 

• 1 ½ cups of pumpkin puree
• ½ cup of unsalted butter 
  • **For a lighter version, do ¼ cup of oil and ¼ a cup of butter, or to make this dairy free just substitute the butter altogether for oil. 
• 1 cup of packed brown sugar 
• 2 medium sized eggs 
• 1 ½ cups of flour 
• 1 tsp baking powder 
• 1 tsp baking soda 
• 1 tsp salt 
• 1 Tbsp Cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg  
• ½ tsp cloves 
• ½ tsp allspice  

Optional additions: 

• 3/4 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1 cup of chocolate chips 

Optional Crumble Top:

• 2 Tbsp flour
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Mix together the pumpkin puree, butter/oil, brown sugar, and eggs on medium speed, until the eggs and sugar are well incorporated. 

In a separate bowl, mix together the remaining dry ingredients and slowly pour into the wet ingredient bowl while the mixer is set on low speed, scraping the sides occasionally. If incorporating any of the optional additions mentioned above, go ahead and mix those in along with the dry ingredients. I am a total sucker for walnuts in my pumpkin bread.

Mix until there are no more flour pockets in the batter.  

Grease a 9-inch bread loaf pan, or grease some parchment paper to place into the loaf pan. Fill with your batter and place in the oven for 55 minutes. Pull the bread out of the oven, and test the center with a toothpick to make sure it comes out clean. If so, remove the pan from the oven and let the bread cool for 15 minutes before cutting it open to taste a slice (or 3 slices…). 

The cooling process is a little painful – I always want to dive in as soon as the bread comes out of the oven, but trust me – it’s worth the wait to make sure all of that perfect bread moisture doesn’t escape with the heat! 

If the toothpick came out still wet with batter, then leave it in for another 5 minutes and test again. Or, if it is just barely wet then you can just turn the oven off and leave the bread inside for another 10 minutes before cooling it outside the oven.

Much love, and happy fall baking to you all!