Mom's Pumpkin Bread

December 1, 2023 • 0 comments

"Many, many Thanksgivings ago, my mom, Nancy Johnson, was undecided on which of the pumpkin bread recipes she’d clipped and collected were worthy of sharing with the extended families at Christmas so she baked her top three and asked her colleagues at the hospital to taste test. This recipe was the unanimous winner then and, in the half century since, everyone to whom we have served up a slice of Mom’s Pumpkin Bread (my brother and I were “gifted” the recipe as adults after years of desperate pleading and cries of praise) has absolutely loved it." --- JJ Hermes, Integrated Marketing Communications, Lick Skillet Farm

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Servings: 12

Directions

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened and at room temperature
3 cups sugar
3 room temperature Lick Skillet Farm farm-fresh, pasture-raised eggs
16 ounces of canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 ½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup golden raisins

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cream butter, sugar and eggs. Add pumpkin and vanilla. Sift flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and spices. Add pecans and raisins. Grease and flour (or line with parchment paper) two loaf pans and pour the batter equally into each.

Bake for 65-70 minutes. Test with toothpick or a fork: the middle of the loaves will be firm but the pick will not be totally clean. Once cool, release the loaves from the pans and wrap individually tightly in plastic or aluminum foil to preserve moisture and maintain firmness. Store in the refrigerator overnight BEFORE slicing and in between serving. This recipe produces a pumpkin bread that is dense, like a pound cake, and therefore also freezes well.

by Jennifer Hermes