Pumpkin Bread with Dates and Walnuts
(from sissboombah’s recipe box)
Makes a very moist, yummy loaf (I cut the recipe in half for a nice snack on our Half Moon Bay camping trip). Not the perfect pumpkin bread I am questing for (dates compete for flavor?), but very nice. Allegedly good with cream cheese or cranberrry sauce and thinly sliced poultry.
Source: The Baker's Dozen Cookbook, this recipe by John Phillip Carroll
Categories: baking, quick bread, tried-and-true
Ingredients
- To make 2 loaves:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup corn oil
- 2-1/3 cup cooked, pureed pumpkin or canned solid-pack pumpkin
- 1-1/2 cups chopped walnuts
- 1-1/2 cups coarsely chopped dates
Directions
-
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350F. Lightly butter and flour two 8-1/2 × 4-1/2 loaf pans.
-
Sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and allspice together into a large bowl.
-
In another large bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and oil until they are completely mixed. Add the pumpkin and whisk until blended. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in the walnuts and dates.
-
Add the pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients and stir just until the batter is blended and there are no streaks of flour visible.
-
Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pans. Bake until a long wooden skewer inserted in the loaves comes out clean, 65 to 70 minutes.
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Transfer to a wire cooling rack. Cool in the pans for 15 minutes. Give each pan a sharp downward jerk to loosen the bread, then invert the loaves onto the rack. Turn right side up, and cool completely. (The bread can be baked up to 3 days ahead, wrapped in plastic wrap or a plastic bag, and stored at room temperature. It can also be frozen, double-wrapped in aluminum foil, for up to 3 months.)