Fall. The trees have started to turn colors taking on amazing hues of orange and crimson. This is by far one of my favorite times of the year. It’s perfect weather for getting out into the city, throwing on a sweater, taking a stroll through Central Park, and venturing out on a Sunday morning to visit the Farmer’s Market to see all of the delicious harvest goodies.
There is so much abundance and some of my favorite veggies become available for amazing fall soups, and goodies that we only seem to indulge in this time of year. Beautiful squash for a Roasted Butternut Squash Soup, or maybe some great root vegetables to toss into a nice Vegetable Shepherd’s Pie, or Three Bean Chili. But in particular it’s time for PUMPKIN!
That’s right, and this season I’m going a little pumpkin crazy whipping up my delicious Pumpkin Scones and just this past weekend whipping up some amazing Pumpkin Tortellini. Which all left me with some pumpkin purée left over and naturally not wanting it to go to waste, I whipped up yet another recipe for you to try this fall.
This Pumpkin Pecan Bread is absolutely delicious and perfectly moist. And the Pecan Glaze makes this bread a true show-stopper. As with most sweet breads, you will want to make sure that the sugars, oil and eggs are beaten til nice and fluffy – this helps boost the rise of your bread. Gently mix in the pumpkin puree, flour mixture, pecans, and milk until JUST combined being careful not to over-mix.
I have found that a nice trick to getting that nicely domed top to your sweet bread is to start of the bake at 425 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees F for the remaining bake time. This gives the rising agent (baking soda) a chance to react more vigorously pushing air into the mix. The bake on this will depend largely on your oven so be prepared to check every 10 minutes or so after the 60 minute mark. To test for doneness, simply grab a skewer and insert in the middle, if it comes out clean you are good to go – if some of the batter sticks to the skewer, set the time for another 10 minutes and check again. Repeating until the skewer comes out clean.
For the glaze I waited until the bread was done and almost completely cooled before even starting it. The glaze will set rather rapidly and there is a short window of time between when you take it off the stove and when it sets up almost completely. I had transferred it from the pot to a separate bowl to cool faster, but discovered that this isn’t necessary and frankly just dirties one more dish for clean up. If you let it sit for a couple minutes in the pot off the heat and then drizzle over your bread you’ll be fine. Quickly sprinkle chopped pecans over your bread for a nice garnished top (if you don’t have chopped pecans, be sure to chop them up before you make your glaze).
Serve slightly warm, or let it cool completely and store in an air-tight container for up to a few days. This is a wonderful post dinner dessert, or midnight snack with some hot cocoa or chai tea next to the fire.
Ingredients:
For the Bread
3/4 cup Dark Brown Sugar
3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
2 Extra-Large Eggs
1 cup Pumpkin Purée
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
2 teaspoons CrumbleSpice
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 3/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/3 cup Milk
1/2 cup Chopped Pecans
For the Glaze
2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
1/4 cup Dark Brown Sugar
2 tablespoons Milk
1/2 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup Confectioners Sugar
1/4 cup chopped Pecans
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
In a mixer, cream together sugar, oil and eggs until light and airy. In a separate bowl measure out the flour, baking soda, CrumbleSpice, and salt. In another bowl mix together the milk and pumpkin purée. Slowly add the flour mixture and pumpkin mixture to the bowl in thirds alternating until all is added to the bowl and mix until just incorporated.
Pour the bread mixture into a 9×5 greased pan and place in the 425 degree F oven for 15-20 minutes to start, then reducing heat to 350 degrees for another 40-60 minutes. When done, remove from the oven and let sit in the pan for 15 minutes to cool and then turn out to a wire baking rack to cool the rest of the way.
Once the bread has almost completely cooled you can prepare the glaze. Have the chopped pecans ready before making the glaze. Over medium heat, place butter, sugar and milk in a saucepan and mix together bringing the mixture to a boil. Once a boil begins, set timer for one minute and stir constantly with a whisk. After 1 minute, remove from the heat and add in confectioners sugar and vanilla and whisk together until smooth. Set aside and allow to cool for a few moments and then pour the glaze over the bread and top with chopped pecans.
Serve and Enjoy!