Pumpkin Bread a Family Tradition

Pouring rain… Finally, thank goodness! A very rainy Funday Monday takes us all the way… to the kitchen… and a trip back in time with a true family tradition, pumpkin bread.

Very careful to hold the pages in place, we open to page 45 and find, through the stains of splashes and drips collected throughout the years, what is obviously the most popular and most used recipe in the cookbook and what has become over the years, a true family tradition… known today as Grandma’s Pumpkin Bread. 
Found on page 114 of our 2009 Family Cookbook and then again in our updated 2019 Family Cookbook on page 64, every year Grandma’s Pumpkin Bread rings in the Fall season.

Made over and over again throughout the fall and holiday season, for every possible reason, from Halloween to Thanksgiving from Fall Birthdays to Christmas or just to go with our afternoon coffee is always the perfect time to make Grandma’s Pumpkin Bread.

So, what better way to spend a very rainy Funday Monday afternoon than making one of our favorite family traditions. The original recipe calls for nuts and raisins, but we take it a few steps further adding chocolate chips and dried cranberries to the mix and a layer of sugar and cinnamon baked on top for a sweet crusty crunch.

Oh my… still steaming from the oven with melting butter dripping down the sides… a sip of hot coffee, a warm buttery bite… taste the melted chocolate chips, the soft warm cranberries, smell and taste all the pumpkin spices, and the topping… a sugary cinnamon crust, oh my! 
Happy Autumn to all stay safe.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2/3c soft shortening
• 2 2/3c sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 (1lb) can of pumpkin
• 2/3c water
• 1 1/3c flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. cloves
• 2/3 chopped nuts
• 2/3 dried cranberries

Instructions:

Heat oven to 250 degrees. Mix shortening and sugar thoroughly. Add eggs, sugar, and, water. Blend in flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and cloves. Stir in nuts and cranberries. If you like chocolate chips add 1 cup.

Pour into two well-greased loaf pans (9x5x3″). Bake 65 to 70 minutes until a toothpick stuck into the center comes out clean.