Pumpkin Bread

Fall is here! Well, maybe not today…today it is going up to 97, but last weekend, it was fall, I swear. There was a cool, crisp breeze in the air, and it felt amazing. This time of year means 2 things in my household (1) time to put away our summer whites and try and remember where I managed to store all of our winter clothes (living in an apartment means being very creative with storage space, and sometimes I forget just exactly where I stored things 6 months ago) and (2) pumpkin bread. Actually, not just pumpkin bread—pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin flan, pumpkin soup, and the list goes on. Pumpkin bread is my favorite though. I absolutely love how the smell fills the entire apartment for days. My goal this fall is to learn how to use real pumpkin, but I haven’t seen any pumpkins at the grocery store yet, so for now, I’m sticking to the canned stuff. If anyone has any helpful tips on using real pumpkin, please feel free to share!


This recipe makes 2 loaves. Sometimes I throw in a cup of walnuts or chocolate chips, depending on the audience. I should add that this is my favorite pumpkin bread recipe, and I have my high school senior cookbook to thank. I believe this recipe was originally published in bon appétit magazine, and it became a favorite at potluck brunches.



Here is what you will need:

Step 1:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9x5x3-in. or 8.5x3.5x3-in loaf pans. Beat sugar and oil in a large bowl to blend.

 Step 2: Mix in eggs and pumpkin.

Step 3: Sift flour, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt, and baking powder in another large bowl.

 Step 4: Stir into pumpkin mixture in 2 additions.

Step 5: Divide batter equally between prepared pans Bake until tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

***Now rather that divide the batter into 2 pans, I used the other half of the mixture to make pumpkin chocolate-chip muffins. I added a little less than a cup of chocolate chips and cooked the muffins for around 17 minutes (I made them small). Keep an eye on them.

Ingredients
3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1(16 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9x5x3-in. or 8.5x3.5x3-in loaf pans. Beat sugar and oil in a large bowl to blend. Mix in eggs and pumpkin.
Sift flour, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt, and baking powder in another large bowl. Stir into pumpkin mixture in 2 additions. Divide batter equally between prepared pans Bake until tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.* Transfer to racks and cool 10 minutes. Using a sharp knife, cut around the edges of the loaves. Turn loaves out onto racks and cool completely.

*if making muffins, cook 16-20 minutes and test with toothpick.

Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins

Dear Loyal Blog Readers, I apologize for getting a little behind on posting, but between last weekend's 5k race (we raised $32,000!) and my parent's visit to the District, the blog had to take a back seat. Have no fear, I am back, and I have lots of yummy recipes to share.

I decided to post a breakfast recipe, since a lot of people may be in the midst of trying to plan their mother's day brunch. This is the first recipe I have ever tried from the Barefoot Contessa, and I really liked it. These Blueberry Muffins are really moist and not overly sweet---nothing too complicated or fancy about them. I had never made blueberry muffins before, so I thought this was a good place to start. I currently, have a lot of extra blueberries from Costco sitting in my refrigerator, so I may use that as an excuse to kick things up a notch this weekend and try making these with a streusel topping. Be on the lookout for that.

Here is what you will need:



Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place 16 paper liners in muffin pans. Sort through the blueberries and pick out any stems or spoiled berries.



Step 2: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.



Step 3: With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, sour cream, and milk.



Step 4: In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.



Step 5: With the mixer on low speed add the flour mixture to the batter and beat until just mixed.



Step 6: Fold in the blueberries with a spatula and be sure the batter is completely mixed.



Step 7: Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling each cup just over the top, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the muffins are lightly browned on top and a cake tester comes out clean.





Enjoy!!


Full List of Ingredients:
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
8 ounces (about 1 cup) sour cream
1/4 cup milk
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 half-pints fresh blueberries

Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Today's recipe for Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake comes to us courtesy my co-worker/friend, Lisa. She made this a few months ago for a morning meeting, and I have been thinking about it ever since. Although, she is quick to give credit where credit is due; this recipe actually comes from her mother-in-law, Kerry Marflak.

It is a pretty easy recipe to follow and essentially the perfect brunch dish. I especially love the crunch of the almond raspberry crust combined with the moist cake on the bottom. I made this for my friends over at LivingSocial (as advertised on this blog) because they generously donated to the Bright Beginnings 5K race I posted about last week. Just a reminder, the race is on May 1, at Hains Point. For more information, go here http://www.brightbeginningsinc.org/.



Here is what you will need:



Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch or 10-inch springform pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the flour and 3/4 cup of sugar. Cut in butter until it resembles small crumbs.





Reserve 1 cup of the crumb mixture.



Step 2. To the remaining mix, add powder, soda, salt, 1 egg, sour cream, and almond extract.



Blend well.



Spread batter over the bottom and 2" up the side of the pan.



Step 3. Combine the cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, and the remaining egg.





Pour over the batter in the pan.



Step 4. Carefully spoon the preserves over the cheese filling.





Step 5. Combine the reserved crumb mix and the almonds.



Step 6. Sprinkle over the top of the preserves. Bake for 45-55 minutes. Serves 16.










Full List of Ingredients:

2 and 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup plus 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon almond extract
1, 8 oz. package cream cheese
1/2 cup raspberry preserves
1/2 cup sliced almonds
cooking spray

Pumpkin Pancakes

This past fall, I read an alarming article about a possible shortage of canned pumpkin (see Pumpkin Shortage Article). I panicked and immediately bought 10 cans of pureed pumpkin that afternoon---In my head, I was in a race against time against all of the other pumpkin lovers of the world. Was this an over-reaction? yes. Did I need 10 cans of pumpkin? no. But I wasn't taking any chances.

Flash forward to February 2010---I'm snowed in, and as I scour the pantry trying to figure out what to make next, the pumpkin cans that had been sitting there patiently since November called out to me. Then, my husband mentioned how nice pancakes would be on a snowy morning--so VOILA! Pumpkin Pancakes were born. Enjoy!

Here is what you will need:


Step 1: Whisk the dry ingredients together---flour, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and baking powder.



Step 2: Mix together the 'wet' ingredients--pumpkin, egg, milk, and melted butter.



Step 3: Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.





You should have a nice thick batter like this...



Step 4: Butter the skillet!


Step 5: Use a 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. 2 minutes on each side should do. As soon as you start to see little bubbles form, flip them.



Step 6: Serve with real maple syrup.



List of ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
3 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon of cloves
1 cup of milk
7 tablespoons of canned pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons of melted butter
1 egg