Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
Recipe makes one loaf
1 sugar pumpkin (to be made into 2 cups of pumpkin puree)
2 cups of flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons of Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Pie Spice (or 1 teaspoon each of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg)
1.5 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups of sugar
2 large eggs
Olive oil for greasing pan
Directions
Pumpkin Puree:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Cut pumpkin in half (from top to bottom)
Scrape out the insides and dispose (save the seeds, you can bake them as a snack!)
Place open-side-down on a cookie sheet
Bake in oven for about 45 mins to 1 hour (cook time depends on the size of the pumpkin)
Remove from oven when skin is darkened and beginning to lift off of the pumpkin filling
Remove skin (I like to lift it off with a fork while the pumpkin is still hot)
Break up the pumpkin in the cookie sheet while cooling before transferring to a medium-large bowl
Mash with a potato masher, and set aside for later!
Pumpkin Bread:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Lightly grease a 9x5 bread loaf pan with olive oil
Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and Pumpkin Pie Spice in a medium-large bowl
Blend the butter and sugar on medium speed in an electric mixing bowl
Beat the eggs in one at a time, and continue mixing for a few minutes until fluffy
Add 2 cups of pumpkin puree!
Switch the mixer to low, and add flour mixture from the other bowl
Pour or scoop the blended mixture into the loaf pan
Bake for approximately 70 minutes
Let cool, remove from pan, and enjoy!