a classic pumpkin loaf

A staple in the kitchen, once the words pumpkin and spice start popping up everywhere it seems, is a classic pumpkin loaf.

I have tried a few different recipes, but my go-to recipe is from Martha Stewart Living. It's not just that it turns out perfectly every time, or that it makes two perfect loaves (which seem to last just as long as one loaf), but that it's a pretty straightforward recipe that I know by heart, so it's just comfortably familiar.

Pumpkin Bread

from Martha Stewart Living

Preheat oven to 350. Butter two loaf pans.

Melt 1 1/2 sticks of unsalter butter (12 tbsp) and set aside

Set aside 1/2 c. of buttermilk and four eggs.

In a bowl, sift the following:

3 1/4 c. flour

3 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. allspice

3/4 tsp. kosher salt

In the bowl of stand mixer, mix the following to combine:

1 15 oz can of pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. (*note - In Canada, our common tin of E. D. Smith's pure pumpkin is actually 796 mL, which means you only need a half can for this recipe.)

1 c. of dark brown sugar, packed

1 c. of white sugar

Add butter and the 4 eggs. Scrape down bowl and mix thoroughly.

Alternate dry ingredients with the 1/2 c. of buttermilk, finishing with the remainder of dry ingredients.

Mix just until combined. Scrape down bowl. Divide evenly between two pans. Smooth out tops and bake in middle of top rack for roughly an hour. The recipe calls for 70-80 minutes, but I start checking at 60 minutes. Insert a toothpick to check if loaves are done. Cool 10 minutes and then remove from pan to finish cooling.

The loaves get the perfect, muffin-like top, and are nice and moist. Another reason I love the recipe is because it's so versatile. A slice is perfect with a generous amount of butter, stored in your pocket for a nice walk or as a quick breakfast on the go, or to make it a little more special, some swirled cream cheese frosting and a sprinkle of toasted walnuts does the trick. Either way, it won't last long.

It's also the perfect after school snack with a cup of tea.

And if the smell of pumpkin bread baking isn't enough to send you searching for your pile of knitted sweaters and Hunter boots, seeing the garden take on it's fall hues will do the trick.

pumpkin spice cupcakes with maple frosting

September has arrived, and with it, all the classic autumn recipes. And with the arrival of cooler weather, I don't mind having the oven on.

The first truly fall recipe I wanted to make again were these Pumpkin Spiced Cupcakes with Maple Frosting from Barefoot Contessa. This time I made mini cupcakes for with tea after our first day of school, and they turned out perfectly. I just adjusted the baking time.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Maple Frosting - Barefoot Contessa

The frosting recipe is amazing, and it made so much extra that I put half of it in the fridge to use another time. Also, I love how perfect cupcakes look with uniformly piped frosting, but sometimes, getting those swirls just right is so satisfying.

Now her recipe calls for a Health bar on top, and in Canada, we don't really have them. We have Skor bars, which I think are similar. I happened to have a container (or three) of English Toffee from when I went to Trader Joe's last week, and that worked perfectly!

This recipe is truly worthy of a signature "How easy was that?".

gingerbread recipe

I spent more time today than I care to admit making Gingerbread. That being said, they're the prettiest Gingerbread I've ever made, so I thought I would share them here.

The recipe I used for the Gingerbread was for Gingerbread Snowflakes by Martha Stewart Living, and I used Jenny Steffens' Royal Icing recipe for the decorating.

*note - I added an extra 1/4 cup of icing sugar to the Royal Icing recipe, just so it was firm enough to hold a nice line, but soft enough to pipe easily.

They were a little time consuming, but actually fairly easy. Just don't skimp out on the chilling!

Happy baking.

Ps. Follow along on Instagram if you aren't already!

@growersdaughter

Pumpkin Loaf

I feel like, up to this point, with the exception of my quick night away, I've tried my best to not go too pumpkin crazy, but as it is officially Fall, I intend to fully indulge in all things pumpkin.

As promised, here is the recipe for this delicious Pumpkin Loaf I enjoyed this morning. It's dense, but super moist, and it doesn't have a strong spice flavour (even though I doubled the spices in the original recipe).

The recipe was found on Pinterest and adapted from the original recipe found here. I halved the recipe successfully, and immediately regretted that decision.

PUMPKIN LOAF

makes one 9" x 5" loaf

Preheat oven to 350'  and grease pan. Set aside.

In large bowl, mix:

1 cup pure pumpkin

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup water

2 eggs

In small bowl, mix:

1 3/4 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. pumpkin spice

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Add dry ingredients to wet, and mix to combine. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 55 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool.

I've been looking through all my cookbooks, page marking the Fall recipes I'm looking forward to trying.

Fittingly, we spent our first day of Fall at the Fall Fair, completeing a scavenger hunt. The pumpkin loaf made a tasty snack!

Butternut Squash Bisque

I love cooking - but I especially love cooking in the Fall.

And as they days grow more crisp, a good pot of soup brings comfort and warmth, not to mention a house filled with it's savory aroma as it simmers and the flavors develop.

There are so many kinds of soup, but one that we enjoy throughout Autumn is a Butternut Squash Bisque. It really doesn't get any more Fall than that.

It's also brilliantly simple to make, and can be made quite quickly if you're in a pinch, or reheated for a simple dinner later in the week.

I don't really have a recipe, but it usually goes as follows:

- Dice a small onion and sweat in a medium pot with a little butter and oil.

- While the onion sweats, peel and remove seeds from one large Butternut squash. Cut into 1" cubes, add to onions once transparent and cover with chicken stock in a pot. This is usually about 1 container of broth.

- Cook squash until tender.

- In small batches, puree the soup in a blender, keeping the pureed soup in a large bowl until everything is smooth. Return soup back to pot and continue heating.

- Season with salt and pepper. Add a few tablespoons of pure maple syrup, a pinch of cayenne pepper and some fresh thyme leaves removed from the stem. Let that simmer gently for a while.

- When ready to serve, add about 1/2 cup of whipping cream.

- Garnish with small dollop of creme frais, or plain Greek yogurt, a drizzle of maple syrup and some fresh thyme. 

I like to serve this soup with some great bread and cheese, or a warm scone. The other day we had it with some Apple Walnut Sourdough from the shop, sliced Honeycrisp Apples, Walnuts and Aged Cheddar. I also love it with an Apple Rosemary Pecan Scone with sliced ham, cheddar cheese and spicy Dijon mustard.

I've even done this soup with a couple of apples or pears tossed in, and occasionally, some white wine if I have it open.

So delicious!

Pumpkin Loaf and Tea on the Deck

Since it is the season of all things Pumpkin Spice, I thought I would share one of my favourite new recipes I've tried this season.

This super moist, but not-too-sweet, Pumpkin Bread was originally from Food and Wine, however I discovered it via here.

I only substituted the almond milk for 1/6 cup cream and 1/6 cup milk.

I also had some extra cream cheese frosting in the freezer, so I thawed that and spread it on top with some toasted pecans.

The whole house smelled scrumptious and quite like Fall!

While it cooled, we put the kettle on and set up tea on the back porch. Recently we purchased four wicker arm chairs from Ikea to have a small sitting area.

We enjoyed it with a cup of Chai tea.

I can't get over how much he loves to sit and have tea with me. It's so special.

In other news, we welcomed our second nephew yesterday!

Meet Luke Richard Oblak.

He was due on Thanksgiving, but we're happy he came early.

Snowball Cookies

My sleigh, stacked with gifts all wrapped for Christmas morning, has found it's place under our Christmas tree.

We've been having the most dreary of winter days lately, with the sun making no appearance at all. It makes it quite a challenge to photograph, so unfortunately that will have to come later.

In the meantime, the boys and I have kept ourselves busy baking cookies and doing activities around the house.

This is a new cookie for me, and has quickly become one of my favourite recipes. I've actually made it three times this week, never daring to keep more than a few in the house.

They're my take on a Melting Moment Snowball Cookie. The basic recipe was found here, and then I added the following ingredients to it.

1/2 cup of good quality milk chocolate, chopped

1/2 chopped pecan pieces. chopped

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp espresso powder

The cookie plain was delicious, but with the combination of cinnamon and chocolate and nuts and coffee... divine.

While still warm, each cookie is rolled in powdered sugar to give it a bit more added sweetness.

These are perfect with a cup of coffee. The texture is crumbly, and true to their name, they really do melt in your mouth. They're also super easy to make.

As you can see, it's hard to keep them around for any length of time.