Simpler Living Blog

BAKING, RECIPES

Mom’s Pumpkin Bread

Lehman's
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Every Thanksgiving, for as long as I can remember, my mom makes two loaves of pumpkin bread. In our family, this is an absolute favorite, especially because she only makes it once a year. As the loaves bake, the entire kitchen is filled with a sweet, enticing aroma of pumpkin and cinnamon. (The smell alone has been known to bring a crowd into my mom’s kitchen.) After it cools, we devour one loaf in the morning for breakfast and eat the other after our big Thanksgiving dinner in the evening.

I recently decided to try to make this family favorite for myself, and to my relief, it was not difficult at all. The hardest part was making sure that I left myself plenty of time for it to bake and cool. I brought one loaf into the office to share with my co-workers, and I gave the other loaf to my family. The first thing my family said: “It’s not even Thanksgiving.”

Mom’s Pumpkin Bread

Lehman's

Ingredients

2/3 c. shortening
2 2/3 c. sugar
4 eggs
1 can (16 oz) pumpkin
2/3 c. water
3 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
2/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup of raisins

Instructions

Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease the bottom of 2 loaf pans (9×5).
With electric beater, mix shortening and sugar in a large bowl. Add eggs, pumpkin and water.
Blend in flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and cloves. Stir in, by hand, walnuts and raisins. Pour into pans.
Bake for about 65 minutes.* Let it cool slightly. Then, loosen the sides of loaves from pans. (My mom always uses a butter knife.) Cool completely before slicing.
When finished, wrap and store in the refrigerator for no longer than 10 days.