Make Ahead Pumpkin Bread

Oh this is a tradition, a really delicious tradition.

It’s story time.

So the first year Brian and I were married, he had orders to D.C. and we moved there at the end of September. This was my first fall not in the military myself or living with my parents so creative freedom in the kitchen, I finally had!

I was trying out every single fall recipe I could think of: cinnamon rolls, beef stew, chili, apple crisps, dinner rolls, pumpkin bread, the list goes on. But I had so much left over that I would send Brian to work with loaves of bread and huge containers of stew to share!

One day, Brian brought three loaves of my pumpkin bread to work for a lunch thing at the hospital. One of the nurses slices some off and leaves the room. I know she didn’t sneak back in through the other door and snatch an entire loaf for herself! But she did!

Ever since then, I make Brian many loaves of pumpkin bread to take to his job along with that story. I receive plenty of requests for more, every year.

This pumpkin bread is perfect for Thanksgiving, not only is it fabulous to eat fresh, but it’s even better to make ahead (make this the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and it will be even more delicious and moist by Turkey Day!)

If you don’t want a loaf of bread in your oven for an hour, I love making these cute little Pumpkin Muffins.

These are great for a sweet little Thanksgiving hors D’vre while the turkey is taking over your oven, only taking 15 minutes to cook and the entire batch will give you three dozen muffins.

Make Ahead Pumpkin Bread

1 can (15 oz) pure pumpkin puree (NOT PUMPKIN PIE FILLING)
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups dark or light brown sugar
1 cup raw sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 Heaping tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cloves
Heaping 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2-3 7×3 loaf pans, or one loaf pan and one muffin tin.
2. Beat eggs well in large bowl; add pumpkin puree and whisk together well. Add sugar, whisk in well. Stir in oil and vanilla afterward.
3. In a separate bowl, add in dry ingredients (i.e. flour, spices, etc) and mix them lightly with a fork.
4. Sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, a cup or so at a time, and mix together until just blended. Continue until all the dry ingredients are just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
5. For pans, bake for 50 minutes to an hour. For muffin tins, bake for 15-18 minutes.

I hope you enjoy your pumpkin bread! Keep a close eye on them ;p

Much love,

Britt Anne