Pumpkin Bread Five Ways

 

Pumpkin bread is such a perfect thing to bake in the fall.  Your kitchen will smell like all the cozy spices, and it is the perfect snack, breakfast item or dessert.  I recently baked some pumpkin bread using this delicious recipe from Kroll's Korner.  I have also made a variation straight from the Libby's pumpkin website.  Today I'm posting these recipes, as well as several variations you may want to try.  These recipes

Here is the Kroll's Korner recipe, which makes 2 loaves.  The secret ingredient is vanilla pudding.

5 eggs

1 15 oz can pumpkin

1/2 cup oil

1/4 cup melted butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

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2 cups flour

1 cup sugar 

1 5.1 oz pkg. instant vanilla pudding

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1.  Preheat oven to 325.

2.  Beat eggs with mixer.  Add ingredients through vanilla and mix.

3.  Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  Add more spice if you want to.  Then slowly add dry ingredients to the wet mixture.  Mix.

4.  Spray bread pans or use parchment paper.  Add batter to the two loaf pans.

5.  Bake for 60-70 minutes.  Let cool before removing from pans.

Here is the Libby's recipe.  Double this in order to make 2 loaves and use the whole can of pumpkin. 

1 3/4 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/3 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup oil

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/3 cup water

1.  Preheat oven to 350.

2.  In a medium bowl, stir together flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, combine vegetable oil, eggs and sugar. Stir in pumpkin. Then add flour mixture alternating with the water in two installments.

3. Spray loaf pan or use parchment paper. Add batter to pan and bake for 60-70 minutes. Let cool before removing from pans.

Variations

- Additions: chocolate chips, pecans, walnuts, craisins, or raisins

- Add a streusel topping. 

  From Paula Deen

2 1/2 T brown sugar

2 1/2 T flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

2 T cold butter

Chopped pecans or walnuts to taste (optional)

Cut butter into dry ingredients to make a crumble.

Add to top of batter in loaf pan before baking.

-Add a cream cheese swirl.

From Magnolia Table

4 oz cream cheese (room temperature)

4 T sugar

1 egg yolk

1/2 tsp vanilla

Beat ingredients.  Add a third of the batter to pan.  Then add half of the swirl.  Then another third of batter and the rest of the swirl.  Top with dollops of remaining batter then swirl slightly with a knife.

-Add a cream cheese icing.

From Sally's Baking Addiction

4 oz cream cheese (room temperature)

1/4 cup softened butter

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Homemade Granola

My favorite "basic" cookbook is the Better Homes and Garden Cookbook, and one of its best features is the Mix and Match recipes.  A few years ago I wrote a recipe post about the Mix and Match Egg Casserole.  

I love granola in my yogurt, but wanted to be able to control the ingredients.  I decided to give the Mix and Match granola recipe in the BHG cookbook a try.  It's SO good!

IHOP Pancakes

These are delicious pancakes that taste just like the ones at IHOP.  I usually use a mix (Whataburger pancake mix is good), but these homemade pancakes are worth the extra 5 minutes of effort!

1 1/4 cup flour

1 egg

1 1/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup sugar

1 heaping tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 cup vegetable oil

pinch salt

Combine dry ingredients.  Add liquid ingredients to "well" in the center.  

Mix thoroughly until smooth.  Cook on hot skillet or griddle.

Scones

I found a great recipe for scones in my Better Homes and Garden cookbook.  (I find that this cookbook has the BEST basic recipes...such a good resource.)  There are lots of variations of scones, but generally they are a little denser than a biscuit and a little sweeter too.  The key to this recipe is using cold, cold butter to make tender layers.

Banana Muffins

We have a family recipe for banana bread that is delicious, but I was recently looking for a more bakery-style muffin recipe to use some ripe bananas.  I made a few modifications to this one I found on All Recipes, and this recipe will definitely be a keeper!  Light, fluffy, flaky and flavorful with a crunchy crumb topping...these banana muffins are delicious!

Magnolia Table's Cinnamon Bread

Whether you like a sweet cinnamon swirl bread or raisin cinnamon bread, this is a delicious recipe for you!  The covid time at home has given me time to practice making yeast breads, and I really love it.  I don't usually repost a recipe straight from a cookbook, but I couldn't find this one ANYWHERE online so I wanted to share it with you.

Mix'n'Match Egg Casserole

A few weeks ago, we had breakfast for dinner.  This is a regular in our meal plan rotation, and it's often a go-to if I just don't feel like making a traditional dinner.  Does anyone else just get tired of cooking chicken or tacos or pasta or casseroles?  Sometimes BFD is just a fun change.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

This coffee cake is sooo delicious!  It's moist with swirls of cinnamon sugar throughout.  Because it's a bundt cake, it is perfect to bring to someone...easy to wrap up and carry.  And I bet you have all the ingredients for this in your pantry!

The recipe for this sour cream coffee cake is from Southern Living, so you know you can't go wrong!  (This is one of my all time favorite cookbooks, but it looks like it's out of print now.)  I hope you enjoy this coffee cake filled with vanilla and cinnamon flavors!

Double Chocolate Muffins

My kids love, love, love, muffins!  I'm always looking for recipes to make the muffins just a little bit healthier.  Let's be honest...they would love a giant muffin from Starbucks or Costco anytime they could get it!  But those are a little over the top for weekday mornings! 

Here's a recipe I found on Mel's Kitchen Cafe that fit the bill for super yummy and a little bit healthier.  Click over to her site to get a printable version.

Baked Mini Donuts

A few weeks ago, the kids and I were shopping at City Centre.  This upscale open air shopping center is on our side of town, but we rarely go.  They have a great mix of restaurants and stores, and it's always a treat to go hang out there.

Healthier Chocolate Chip Muffins

I was looking for a healthier muffin recipe to make for the first day of school.  I love to make a huge batch of muffins and then freeze them for future breakfasts.  My Healthy Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins are always a big hit, so I was looking for something similar.

I found a recipe for Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins on Little Sweet Baker.  I made a few tweaks to help make them a little less sinful.

Now let's get this straight...if I were making these for a special occasion or to take to someone, I would stick to the original recipe.  I'm sure it is fluffier and richer tasting.  But for an everyday recipe, I wanted something just a little lighter.

I typed out the original recipe and put my changes in italics.  The recipe says it makes 12 muffins, but I got about 15 out of the batter.

Biscuit Egg Breakfast Cups

Jack has recently discovered the Tasty You Tube channel and wanted to try some recipes this week. He decided to make Cheesy Biscuit Egg Cups for his breakfasts this week.  You can check out the Tasty video here.

They turned out great, and have been a delicious breakfast for Jack's week.  The recipe was really easy, except we couldn't quite get the biscuits rolled out as flat as they did in the video.  But it still worked well.

Here's the recipe...

1 tube refrigerated jumbo biscuits
6 eggs
½ cup milk
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 cup cooked bacon, chopped
½ cup chives, chopped
1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese

PREPARATION
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Cut 6 biscuits in half, and on a floured surface, roll each half out into 5 inch diameter circles.
3. Press the biscuit circles into a greased muffin tin.
4. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper.
5. Pour egg mixture into biscuit cups, no more than half full.
6. Divide the bacon and chives among the cups, then top each one with cheese.
7. Bake 15-20 minutes, until eggs are fully set.

Applesauce Muffins

I had some unsweetened applesauce I wanted to use, so I searched Pinterest for a muffin recipe with applesauce.  I found a delicious sounding recipe from Lil Luna.

I made a few changes to make it just a little healthier.  I know buttery muffins topped with cinnamon sugar are not the best breakfast choice, but the small changes might help a little.  I also doubled the recipe.

Makes 2 dozen.

1/4 cup softened butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 kids cup or 1/2 cup applesauce (I used unsweetened.)
1 cup flour (I used white-whole wheat flour.)
1/4 t salt
1/2 T baking powder
Optional:  I added a splash of vanilla and dash of cinnamon.

Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray mini muffin pan with Pam.  Cream butter and sugar.  Add egg and applesauce.  Add dry ingredients.  Bake for 11-13 minutes.

After baking, dip in melted butter and cinnamon sugar.  (1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 t cinnamon)

Ham and Cheese Strata

Obviously, I am a little behind in the blogosphere.  January is always a slow month on the blog, but this year especially so.  So I am just now posting this recipe from the Christmas holidays.

I made this egg casserole for Christmas morning.  The addition of bread to the egg mixture makes this a "strata."  It gives it a lighter texture than a traditional egg casserole, such as Hash Brown Casserole or an Egg Puff Casserole.

It was delicious, and you could easily mix-and-match ingredients.  Other additions or substitutions might be:  sausage, mushrooms, onions, bell pepper, or bacon.  The recipe comes from Martha Stewart and can be found online here.

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• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
• 10 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 loaf bread, Pullman or sandwich style, cut into 1-inch pieces (recommend something like Pepperidge Farm white sandwich bread)
• 1 pound boiled or baked deli ham, chopped
• 5 scallions, chopped (1/2 cup)
• 8 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded

1. Butter a 2 1/2- to 3-quart baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, mustard, paprika, and salt.
2. Place half of the bread in the bottom of a baking dish. Top with half each of the ham, scallions, and cheese. Repeat with a second layer of the remaining ham, scallions, and cheese.  You will have to press it down to make it fit in pan.
3. Carefully pour the egg mixture over into the bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Pull strata out of fridge and let come to room temperature for 15 minutes. Bake the strata, uncovered, until puffed and lightly golden brown, about 1 hour to 1 hour and 20 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Homemade Waffles

Neither of my kids are cereal eaters, and one of them is not even an egg eater.  So our breakfasts tend to be of the carb-ilicious variety...muffins, pancakes, waffles, toast, etc.  I am always on a quest to try to make these a little bit healthier.  One of our favorites are my "healthy" chocolate muffins.

In my search for a better version of waffles, I found two recipes to try - one from Six Sisters Stuff and one from Money Saving Mom.  You can see these links and more on my Pinterest Breakfast board.

The recipe from Money Saving Mom was from the Better Homes and Garden cookbook, so I looked the recipe up in my tried and true cookbook.  I just made a few changes that I will note below.

I made these last night, so I decided we would have breakfast for dinner.  Needless to say, everyone was happy about that!

Here are the changes I made...

• I doubled the recipe to make plenty for the freezer.
• I used a combination of half whole wheat flour and half white flour.  I have recently been using the white whole wheat flour and it really tastes great.  I think next time I would use all white whole wheat flour.
• I had a few tablespoons of butter left in a stick, so I melted that.  Then added the remaining amount of oil.  I have read some recipes that use part apple sauce to reduce the fat content.

Here's the recipe.

1 3/4 cups flour

2 T sugar

1 T baking powder

1/4 t salt

2 eggs

1 3/4 cups milk

1/2 cup oil, melted butter or applesauce

1 t vanilla

Mix dry ingredients.  In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.  Add the wet ingredients and stir just until combined.

Heat your waffle iron and spray with non-stick spray.  Ours is a round Belgian waffle style iron.  I set it on level 4 (out of 5) - you definitely don't want a soggy waffle.  Pour about 1 cup of batter on the iron.  Close the iron.  When done, it will be dark tan.

To freeze, I put them in zip loc bags after they had cooled.  To reheat, I put it in the toaster oven.  I hope you enjoy this recipe.  Do you ever make homemade waffles?

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

During the fall, I can't seem to get enough pumpkin...pumpkin spice latte's, pumpkin candles, and pumpkin baked goods!  In the past, I have made pumpkin pie (of course!), pumpkin bread, pumpkin whoopie pies, pumpkin doughnut muffins, and pumpkin cranberry bread.  Yum!

I thought the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins on the Life in Grace blog looked delicious.  And they were!

Unfortunately, only half of our family are big pumpkin lovers - myself and Jack.  Michael and Grace don't share the love.  These muffins have a very mild pumpkin flavor and they were a big hit with everyone.  I guess the chocolate chips don't hurt!

I like that this recipe has whole wheat flour.  I might even try to make them a little healthier next time by substituting some apple sauce for part of the oil, like my healthy chocolate muffins.

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups oil
1 t salt
1 t soda
1/2 t baking powder
2 t vanilla
1 can pumpkin
1 t cinnamon
2 cups choc chips (I only added a heaping cup)

Mix sugar, eggs, and oil in a mixer until light and smooth.  Add the rest of the ingredients (except chocolate chips) and mix well.  Add the chocolate chips.  Bake in muffin tins for 14-18 minutes at 400F.  Made 24 muffins.

PW's Cinnamon Rolls

One of our Christmas traditions is cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning.  Back in the good ole USA, I tried some homemade rolls one year.  The recipe I used (or my cooking technique) was not even as good as the Grands refrigerated cinnamon rolls.  So for many years we had yummy Grands cinnamon rolls for Christmas breakfast.  Certainly nothing to complain about!!

Fast forward to our Christmas here in England.  There are no refrigerated cinnamon rolls!  So for the last few years I have made Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls for breakfast on our special day.

Cooking with yeast is not very difficult!

Homemade cinnamon rolls are the ultimate comfort food...rich, buttery, and sweet.  Don't be afraid (like I was) to try a yeast-bread recipe.  Baking with yeast is no big deal...add it to a warm liquid, mix, and let the dough rise.

Here are some pictures from baking the cinnamon rolls this Christmas with my special assistant.  Grace did many of the steps all by herself.  The recipe follows, although you can click over to Pioneer Woman for a printable version and all her helpful notes.

One last note...this recipe makes LOTS of pans of cinnamon rolls.  I think we made 5 round pans.  They are easy to freeze (fully baked and frosted).  Then just thaw and put in the oven (low heat - maybe 250F) for about 15 minutes.

The dough before it rises

The dough after it rises for awhile.  You divide it in half in order to roll it into large rectangles.

Roll the dough out into a big rectangle.  Be careful not to make it to thin, as this leads to floppy cinnamon rolls in the pan.  (I made this mistake on one batch.)

Lots of butter and sugar

The recipe calls for melted butter.  I partially melted it so it wouldn't run out when I rolled it up.

Lots of cinnamon

Rolling it up

A pan ready for baking

The icing - milk, powdered sugar and vanilla.  I don't add coffee as the recipe calls for.

Baked rolls

The final product

Dough:

• 1 quart whole milk 
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 packages active dry yeast (4 1/2 teaspoons)
• 9 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 heaping teaspoon baking powder 
• 1 scant teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon salt

Filling:

• 2 cups melted butter, plus more as needed  (I softened mine in microwave just til spreadable)
• 1/4 cup ground cinnamon, for sprinkling
• 2 cups sugar, plus more as needed

Maple Icing:

• 2 pounds powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, melted
• 1/4 cup strongly brewed coffee (omitted)
• Dash of salt
• 1 tablespoon maple flavoring or maple extract (I used vanilla)

Directions

For the dough: Heat the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat to just below a boil. Set aside and cool to warm. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let it sit on the milk for 1 minute.

Add 8 cups of the flour. Stir until just combined, and then cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside in a relatively warm place for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove the towel and add the baking powder, baking soda, salt and the remaining 1 cup flour. Stir thoroughly to combine. Use the dough right away, or place in a mixing bowl and refrigerate for up to 3 days, punching down the dough if it rises to the top of the bowl. (I chilled for a few hours, but I think dough would work better after chilling overnight.)

To assemble the rolls, remove half the dough from the pan. On a floured baking surface, roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 30 by 10 inches. The dough should be rolled very thin.

For the filling: Pour 3/4 cup to 1 cup of the melted butter over the surface of the dough. Use your fingers to spread the butter evenly. Generously sprinkle half of the ground cinnamon and 1 cup of the sugar over the butter. Don't be afraid to drizzle on more butter or more sugar! Gooey is the goal.

Now, beginning at the end farthest from you, roll the rectangle tightly towards you. Use both hands and work slowly, being careful to keep the roll tight. Don't worry if the filling oozes as you work; that just means the rolls are going to be divine. When you reach the end, pinch the seam together and flip the roll so that the seam is face down. When you're finished, you'll wind up with one long buttery, cinnamony, sugary, gooey log.  (This may be hard to believe, but these rolls were almost TOO rich for me.  I might add a little less butter and sugar next time.)

Slip a cutting board underneath the roll and, with a sharp knife, make 1/2-inch slices. One "log" will produce 20 to 25 rolls. Pour a couple of teaspoons of melted butter into disposable foil cake pans and swirl to coat. Place the sliced rolls in the pans, being careful not to overcrowd. (Each pan will hold 7 to 9 rolls.)

Repeat the rolling/sugar/butter process with the other half of the dough and more pans.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Cover all the pans with a kitchen towel and set aside to rise on the countertop for at least 20 minutes before baking.

Remove the towel and bake until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Don't allow the rolls to become overly brown.

While the rolls are baking, make the maple icing: In a large bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, butter, coffee and salt. Splash in the maple flavoring. Whisk until very smooth. Taste and add in more maple, sugar, butter or other ingredients as needed until the icing reaches the desired consistency. The icing should be somewhat thick but still very pourable.

Baked Pumpkin Spice Donuts

These little morsels of pumpkin yumminess are sooo good!  The recipe is from Craving Chronicles, via Christine on Pinterest.  And it looks like they were also inspired by the Pioneer Woman via Tasty Kitchen.  Needless to say, you just can't go wrong with these pumpkin muffins.  They could be a sweet breakfast, a scrumptious snack or a small dessert.  That is if you can just eat one!

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup canned plain pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 cup low-fat milk

For Coating
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a 24-mini-muffin tin with Pam.  

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and spices (through cloves). In a separate, large bowl whisk together oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk until smooth. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined – do not over mix!

Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. (Using a 2-tablespoon scoop will ensure uniform size.) Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

While the muffins bake, melt butter in one bowl and combine granulated sugar and cinnamon in another bowl. Remove muffins from oven and cool for 2 minutes, or until just cool enough to handle. Dip each muffin in melted butter, then roll in cinnamon sugar to coat.

Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole

I made this for a Father's Day brunch, and it was soooo good.  Very easy too!  Thanks to Southern Living for the photo and the recipe!

Yield: Makes 8 servings (very GENEROUS servings)

Ingredients

• 1  pound  ground hot pork sausage (I used mild and it was still very tasty.)
• 1/4  cup  chopped onion
• 2 1/2  cups  frozen cubed hash browns
• 5  large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2  cups  (8 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 3/4  cups  milk
• 1  cup  all-purpose baking mix
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  pepper
• Toppings: picante sauce or green hot sauce, sour cream
• Garnish: fresh parsley sprigs

Preparation

Cook sausage and onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until meat crumbles. Stir in hash browns, and cook 5 to 7 minutes or until sausage is no longer pink and potatoes are lightly browned. Drain mixture on paper towels; spoon into a greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish.

Stir together eggs, cheese, and next 4 ingredients; pour evenly over sausage mixture, stirring well. Cover and chill 8 hours.

Bake, covered with nonstick foil, at 350° for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 to 15 more minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven, and let stand 5 minutes. Serve with desired toppings. Garnish, if desired.

Blueberry Muffins

• Blueberry Muffins from All Recipes. I used brown sugar instead of white for the topping. Not very healthy, but very yummy!
• 
  
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.