Fall Baking: Quick Pumpkin Bread

Image via: Southern Living

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Total time: Preparation 15 minutes + Baking 50 minutes +Cooling

Yields: 32 servings

Ingredients

1 cup applesauce

1 cup canned pumpkin

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/3 cup molasses, or black treacle

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 ½ cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 cup dates, chopped

1 cup pecans, chopped

Topping

¼ cup brown sugar, packed

¼ cup pecans, chopped

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Image via: Life Made Simple Bakes

Procedure

1. In a medium bowl, combine applesauce, canned pumpkin, vegetable oil, eggs, milk, molasses, and vanillas extract. Mix well. In separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and baking powder. Gradually add it to the pumpkin mixture and blend well. Stir in pecans and dates. Pour the mixture into two properly greased 9*5 inch loaf pans.
2. In a small bowl, combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over batter. Bake 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let it cool for 15 minutes before removing from the pans.

This delicious pumpkin bread is great for brunch or as a snack served with whipped cream cheese. It has an incredible texture that remains moist for days. In fact, just like wine, it gets better with age, of course, if it lasts that long! You can also pack them in beautiful fall themed tea towels to give as a gift to your loved ones.

Want to give holiday gifts everyone will remember? Try tasty food gifts. They make lovely presents throughout the year but are especially welcome during the holidays. They also make great gifts if you are short on time or don’t know what to give someone. It is hard to go wrong with food since almost everyone appreciates a food gift. If you don’t know which food gifts to give, here are a few ideas.

Food Gifts: Unique Christmas Ideas for the Holidays

Image by: Food Panda

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Double Desserts

Make a unique gift by mixing two desserts. Double desserts have become very popular these days and are ideal for people who love a variety of desserts. If your recipient loves both pie and rich creamy cheesecake, make his holidays by baking a combination of the two. This ensures he eats his cake and a piece of pie too.

Fruit Baskets

Fruit baskets make excellent gifts for fruit lovers. You can have the gift professionally packed or put it together yourself. Buy fruits that are in season to ensure the best flavor and the highest quality. Some top choices include grapefruits, oranges, tangerines, lemons, and tangelos. You can also include roasted nuts like cashew nuts, almonds, and pistachios. Complete the gift with a selection of jams and marmalades.

Image by: Angie Fehl

Soup as Gifts

Soups are as flavorful as they are healthy. Pack them in jars for your recipients to enjoy on chilly winter evenings. You can put the ingredients with handwritten or typed recipes. This helps the recipient to make the soup time and again.

Chocolate Candy Bark

Few people can resist chocolate. When making a present for a person who loves candies, try chocolate candy bark. Use their favorite candy in the filling and you’ll be sure to impress them. Make a few inquiries to choose add-ons that match the recipient’s personal tastes. Chocolate bark may not be exciting on its own, but add candy and it becomes spectacular.

Image by: Country Cleaver

Home cooked presents show you care and are the ultimate in thoughtful gift giving. They come from the heart and can be given to any person. Your family, friends, and colleagues will be singing your praises when they get any of these handmade gifts from you.

For more dessert ideas for holiday gifts, click here.