This is my absolute favorite time of the year. I love it when the weather starts to cool down, the sweaters come out, the leaves start to change, and best of all- the baking begins. I don't know about you guys, but here in Idaho it gets HOT in the summer, temperatures hovering around the high 90 low 100's every single day and not a drop of rain in sight, and that does anything but make me want to pump my oven up and sit in a hot kitchen all day. So, of course, on the first autumn rainy days there is nothing better to me than doing just that- and that is EXACTLY what I am doing right now. I have a batch of fresh bread in the bread machine, potato soup on the stove and two of my favorite goodies just finishing up and cooling off- what are those you ask...Pumpkin Bars and Pumpkin Bread. Close to each other, but different in so many ways! My pumpkin bars are light and fluffy, cake like with a nice cream cheese frosting and my pumpkin bread is spicy and dense, delicious warm from the oven with a slab of butter melting onto it..mmmm, between the aromas coming from the kitchen and me thinking about stuffing my face, I'm drooling all over the keyboard!! Here are my two favorite recipes for these tasty treats!
For these pumpkin bars I like to use this recipe adapted from
Taste of Home
Ingredients for bars:
4 eggs
1 2/3 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 15 oz can pumpkin
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Ingredients for frosting:
6 oz cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 butter softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons milk
Directions:
In a bowl, beat
the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until well blended. Combine the flour,
cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to pumpkin
mixture and mix well. Pour into an ungreased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in.
baking pan. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until set. Cool
completely.
For icing, beat
the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, butter and vanilla in a small
bowl. Add enough milk to achieve spreading consistency. Spread over
bars. Store in the refrigerator.
Yield: 2 dozen.
Pumpkin Bread
I use this
recipe, once again, adpted to my families taste
Ingredients:
1 15oz can of pumpkin
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup water
3 cups sugar
3 1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.
- In a large
bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well
blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda,
salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into
the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
- Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
