Pumpkin Spice Bread

OK- now I'm ready for a fall dessert treat. However, while this bread isn't so "dessert-y", its still DELICIOUS! The recipe for this Pumpkin Spice Bread is from The Taste of Home Baking Book (which is probably the greatest cookbook ever- 500 pages of cookies, cakes, breads, and brownies)


I've made a version of this bread every fall for like the past 5 years and every year I end up making like 2 more loaves because its just so awesome. So now, I bring the joy to you :)


How Long Is This Gonna Take:Total time: 1 hour (includes baking & cooling time). Actual active time: 10 minutes! That's right...you read correctly- an amazing, tasty bread that will impress all your friends & family made in 10 minutes.


What You'll Need:
3 cups sugar
1 cup veggie oil
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1- 15oz can of pumpkin
3.5 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 cup water


What To Do:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350F. Combine sugar, oil, and eggs in a large bowl. Add in pumpkin and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, cloves, and allspice. Add to pumpkin mixture alternately with the water, beating well after each addition. Pour batter into 2 greased 9x5x3 inch loaf pans


2. Bake for 60-65 minutes or until it passes the clean toothpick test (it took about 75 minutes for me). Cool for 10 minutes in the pans before removing and placing on wire racks to cool completely.









**Hint from the Cook Book**
Much of a quick bread's (non-yeast/non-rising bread) success depends on the freshness of the baking powder and baking soda you use. (If you're like me- you can remember when you actually bought these, they've just always been in your cupboard...) To test them for their freshness

• Baking powder: mix 1 tsp powder with 1/3 cup hot water
• Baking soda: mix 1/4 tsp soda with 2 tsp vinegar

If bubbling occurs, then their still fresh. If not they should be replaced. Full Disclosure: I did this test on my stuff, and to my great surprise, THEY PASSED. Both my baking powder and soda are over a year old and I just keep them in little sealed "Gladware" containers- I guess it works :)

S'mores Brownies

Chocolate, marshmallow, graham cracker all on top of a brownie- need I say more? I mean seriously, if you don't have a camp fire near by, I'd say this is a spectacular substitute. Thanks to BettyCrocker.com for the original recipe.






How Long is This Gonna Take:
1 hour beginning to end, but there's a 30 min period where you're just waiting for the brownies to bake. In reality, its like maybe 20 minutes of active time.


What You'll Need:
1 box brownie mix (13 x 9 size)
Water, veggie oil, and egg as called for on brownie box
2 cups mini marshmallows
4 graham crackers, broken into small pieces
2 Hershey bars (1.55oz each), broken into small squares


What To Do:
1. Preheat oven to temperature directed on brownie box. Make brownies as directed.


2. After brownies have finished baking, remove from oven and immediately set oven to broil.


3. As soon as the brownies come out of the oven, sprinkle marshmallows and graham crackers over warm brownies. Broil brownies about 4-5 inches from heating element for only 30-60 seconds. The marshmallows and crackers will brown VERY QUICKLY (as I all to well learned) so keep an eye on it. (As you can see, I made my brownies into cupcakes. I take my desserts into work or send them off with M, so single servings work best for that- it made 16 brownies)

4. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate on top.


5. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before you dig in