Hummingbird Cake is the most requested recipe from Southern Living magazine. It was first submitted to the magazine in 1978 by Mrs. L. H.Wiggins of Greensboro, North Carolina and appeared in the February issue of that year. Mrs. Wiggins, who worked at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro at the time she sent the recipe in, passed away in 1995 at the age of 81.
This light spice cake filled with bananas, pineapple and pecans is typically made as a layer cake with a cream cheese-buttermilk icing. Bake From Scratch magazine’s May/June 2018 issue featured the flavors of Hummingbird Cake in 5 different ways: cookie bars, loaf, pie, layer cake and as a bundt cake. The cover of that issue was an immediate temptation and I knew I was going to give the bundt cake version a try. READ MORE
Arkansas is ranked in the Top Ten in the Nation For Poultry & Egg Production
Egg productions alone equals 3 billion eggs per year or 11.5 million eggs per day. The production value of egg production along is $1.8 million per day or over $478 million per year.
The average American eats 250 eggs per year.
Beyond brown and white, the color of an egg’s shell does not have any bearing on its nutritional value.
Older hens produce larger eggs.
The white string inside an egg is called the chalaza. Its job is to hold the yolk in place in the center of the white albumen. It is completely edible.
The white leghorn is the more common breed of egg-laying chicken.
The proteins in eggs contain an almost perfect mix of amino acids which are needed to build muscle, second only to breast milk.
Eggs are an excellent source of antioxidants and vitamins A, B12 and D.They are also high in riboflavin, folate, phosphorus and choline, which helps with brain function.
Information source: Arkansas Poultry Federation
Amy Gramlich: Cheddar and Sausage Quiche
Pie crust. Sausage. Cheddar. Fresh herbs. What more could a person want in life?
For years, I have been making this cheddar and sausage quiche for special occasion brunches or breakfasts – Mother’s Day weekends, girls’ weekends, and Christmas gatherings. It is a breeze to put together and if you are running low on time, you can always use a ready-made crust. I found this recipe in a Taste of Home magazine insert years ago. I have made minor changes to the original recipe over the years and it has become a family favorite. READ MORE
Talya Boerner: Healthy Egg Salad
If you want to whip up a family meal using an entire basket of Easter eggs, I suggest this healthy egg salad recipe. Healthy because it’s made with Greek yogurt instead of mayo. (And let’s be clear, I’m referring to boiled Easter eggs not plastic Easter eggs, although you may have those hanging around too…) READ MORE
Anita Stafford: Angel Food Cake
Most of my baking is done based on my own choices. Sometimes I have a new recipe to try or other times I may bake up something old and familiar. A time I don’t choose what to bake is when we’re celebrating a family member’s birthday. Each one has their own group of favorite cakes or desserts, so I have an idea what might be requested. This year though, my daughter threw me a curve when I asked her for her birthday cake order. She told me she wanted an angel food cake with fresh strawberries. I love angel food cakes, but it has been years since one has been baked in my oven. The first step in fulfilling her request was to locate my recipe. READ MORE
Alrighty. After baking the worst strawberry cake ever for my son’s 21st birthday (read about it HERE , or we can just pretend it never happened…), I’m going back to our old family recipe. Nana’s Strawberry Cake. Straight from her vintage recipe box. READ MORE
AMY GRAMLICH: STRAWBERRY-PRETZEL DESSERT
One of my coworkers brings a yummy strawberry pretzel dessert to the teachers’ lounge for potlucks and at other times just because she’s awesome like that. For a while, I have been thinking I wanted to make it at home. I decided it would be a fun dessert to make with Scooter Britches for this month’s Kids’ Kitchen post. READ MORE
ANITA STAFFORD: STRAWBERRY MARGARITA CAKE
I know some people are anti-mix, but I think mixes can serve a great purpose when you need something good in a hurry. This cake utilizes a regular cake mix along with strawberry flavored margarita mix, and the result is amazing. This cake smells so wonderful, just like fresh strawberries. In fact, if you sliced a few fresh strawberries to garnish the top of the cake, no one would be the wiser, I’m sure. This cake is quick and easy to make, plus it is a taste pleaser. READ MORE
DEBBIE ARNOLD: STRAWBERRIES with LEMON CURD
When the Benton Junior Auxiliary published its Calico Cupboards cookbook, my recipe for Tart Lemon Jelly was included along with my homemade gingerbread. I loved the contrast of flavors of the lemon curd and the spiciness of the gingerbread together. Since then, I’ve used lemon curd in so many ways—crepes, trifles, and in this very simple dessert with fresh strawberries, homemade whipped cream. READ MORE
I had so much fun making these cookies with my five-year-old. She’s at such a fun age. We’re just getting to the point where we can have full conversations and she’s wanting to help with everything, and wanting to go with me everywhere. She’s my little bestie. She always likes to help in the kitchen but this was the first experience where I told her the order of ingredients and she wanted to put them all in herself. We had so much fun baking together. She kept stealing bites of brown sugar, and of course, couldn’t resist the cookie dough once it was all mixed. I love experiencing these moments with her…this is everything I imagined motherhood would be. She pretty much made this batch of cookies herself (with my assistance of course) and she even rolled them into little balls in preparation for baking. They turned out so yummy and I’m excited to share this recipe for our Peanut Butter Heart Cookies. READ MORE
Anita Stafford: Tunnel of Fudge Cake
According to recent statistics, the average person celebrating Valentine’s Day in 2016 will spend almost $150 to show their affection. Of course, some will spend considerably more if they opt for the whole sweetheart package. According to the New York Post, the five items most purchased for a significant other are: a box of chocolates, diamond earrings, a dozen roses, dinner for two, and a bottle of champagne. Those five items can add up to over $500, all in the name of love.
I’m sure your sweetheart is worth the cost, nevertheless, not everyone wants to spend such an exorbitant amount of money. Perhaps a home baked cake would be sufficient to communicate your fondness for that special someone. READ MORE
Lacie Ring: Cupid Munch
This recipe is so easy and quick to throw together. I promise you that it takes me longer to snap the pictures than it does to make up Cupid Munch. READ MORE
Mel Lockcuff: Crisp Cut Out Sugar Cookies
What makes this recipe special is that my mom taught me how to make it, just like a lot of recipes I love to make. She is the best at making these yummy Christmas cookies, and she taught me everything I know about baking them.
To make these cookies special, all the Christmas cookie cutters come out, along with my old friend, the rolling pin. We roll and re-roll the dough, cutting out snowmen, Christmas trees, bells, and stars.
After the cookies have baked and cooled, it’s time to decorate, and the kids have so much fun with this. Jaden’s cookies are usually decorated to the hilt; they make my teeth hurt just looking at them. We keep the decorating simple, using butter knives to spread the icing on… Then sprinkle a few of our favorite sprinkles to add a little crunch.
These sugar cookies usually end up on a plate with a glass of milk come Christmas Eve. And they always disappear; so apparently, Santa likes them too. READ MORE
Ricci Alexis: Red Velvet Cake Batter Cookies
Well the other day I was at Target and they had all of their Valentine’s baking stuff on display and I decided to grab a red velvet cake mix fully intending on making some cupcakes to take to work for my birthday. I got home and realized I forgot the icing so I had to kill that idea, just my luck, but then I remembered all of those recipes I had seen for cake batter cookies and the idea was born! READ MORE
Amanda Farris: Valentine Trash
We’ve had a fun week of celebrating and gearing up for Valentine’s Day. As a homeschooling mom, planning crafts and activities around the holiday’s is part of the fun!
This past week we’ve had a tea party, math activity, made Valentine slime, fun snacks, and a craft.
We actually have tea parties often. The kids love it and it breaks up routine. Not to mention, I love watching their little personalities act so “proper” at our sophisticated backyard tea parties with animal crackers and sliced cheese.
For our Valentine’s tea party, part of the fun was making the snack for the party. We spend LOTS of time around our kitchen island making huge messes. It’s exactly what I had envisioned when we built our house. READ MORE
BINGO! There it was! The kind of Valentine treat I was looking for for Ryan! An Apple Cinnamon Granola with Hazelnuts and Cranberries recipe. Ryan eats granola daily, yet he really does enjoy having variety, so why not try a new yummy granola recipe! READ MORE
Are you as thrilled fall is in the air as much as K.D. Reep is? See how she was inspired to create this amazing autumnal deliciousness. Debbie
Ok, maybe not quite fall yet, but September is close enough for me, and this cake makes me think of all the good things i look forward to in Autumn.
I ran across the inspiration for this cake at the ultimate fall celebration: the Arkansas State Fair. Last year, one of the entrants made this piece of art that was a three-layer white cake with a cream cheese icing that was mixed with Arkansas-raised honey and smokey scotch whisky. On the top of this sculpture was a hunk of beeswax, and oozing from it was that golden, gorgeous honey spilling down the sides.
There is no way I could make that cake. If it’s not a sheet or bundt cake, I can’t ice it, and nothing about that cake said “easy”.
So I took it upon myself to GTS (google that stuff) and I found this, which is as good, WAY easier and will remind you of fall as well. The recipe I used is adapted from Life’s a Feast, and the only thing I amended is I dusted the bundt pan with sugar instead of flour. I like to do this to bundt cakes because it gives them a crunch, and for this cake, it adds a hint of caramel to the compliment the honey. Oh, and I used honey whiskey instead of scotch because, well, honey.
KD Reep is a writer, public relations practitioner and aspiring author in Little Rock. She owns Flywrite Communications Inc., a marketing communications agency in Mabelvale. She is a six-time recipient of the Public Relations Society of America’s Prism award and has been published statewide as well as in the Arkansas Times, Inviting Arkansas, Savvy Magazine, Bourbon & Boots, Arkansas Money & Politics, Delta Farm Press and Rice Farmer magazine, among others.
It’s June and while it may not officially be summer, school is out and the summer heat is just getting turned on.My garden is finally getting the kick it needed. One of the few fruits of my yard I have been enjoying is my raspberries.They over spill in a flower bed near our back porch.I have a table where I write and draw at that’s right next to the raspberry bed.I can reach out and snatch a snack when needed.As a teenager I developed a sever allergy to the “other red berry” so raspberries are my go to berries.
While these late spring temps are still pleasant we know the heat is coming. One thing I always look for as the temperatures rise outside is a way to cook that does not heat up my house. Dessert, in my opinion, is often greatly overlooked. Sometimes you just want a little dessert that doesn’t involve a major baking event.A small one or two serving creation doesn’t sit around on your counter tempting you to indulge.So in my desire to beat the heat and not eat a whole cake myself I created this microwave cup of cake recipe.
I can hear you now. “Microwave?!”But trust me on this.Think of it as a grown up much tastier version of our Easy Bake Oven adventures.The recipe is easily adaptable to many flavors.But since I have raspberries in abundance and there’s always an occasion for chocolate, I whipped up this version of a Choco-Raspberry Micro Cake.
This is also a quick and easy recipe for the kids to make.Watch the video of my son and me whipping up a bowl.
Combine all dry ingredients into a small mixing bowl with a fork.
Whisk all remaining wet ingredients with the fork in a liquid measuring cup.
Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Lightly grease 2-3 coffee cups, ramekins, or 1 cereal bowl. Toss in a few raspberries. Pour batter halfway up baking dish. Place the cup on a plate in case the cup overflows while cooking.
Microwave on high in two 30-second intervals. Cook in 15-second intervals until you can smell the chocolate.
Be careful because the cake and cup will be hot. Top with whipped cream, ice cream, or powdered sugar and enjoy!
I love weird stuff – to a degree. In particular, I love midcentury modern weirdness, and I found this cake on Mid Century Menu, a blog about recipes and cocktails from the 1930s-1970s (sometimes beyond, but who’s counting?).
As a kid, my mama would make chocolate cake with leftover mashed potatoes. Did I care? Not a whit. And, I would not have known if she hadn’t told me. When I ran across this recipe, I knew I had to make it for a number of reasons, including:
My love of cake, first and foremost;
My love of pinto beans;
My love of weird things, particularly cheap, fast and easy weird things; and
I needed a dish for a church potluck.
Something that spoke to me about this recipe, besides being unusual, is its use of cheap, readily-available items almost everyone has in their cabinets. Pinto beans (and mashed potatoes, for that matter) sustained by family for generations, and we ate what was prepared until they were gone – no tossing anything out because we were tired of eating it. Essentially, the pinto beans in this cake serve as a filler so you don’t have to use as much flour for volume, and they are tasteless after the cake has baked, the same way the mashed potatoes are in my mother’s chocolate cake.
I like to think this recipe was born by someone who made too many beans, wanted to create some way of feeding them to her family one last time but had too few ingredients (or money with which to buy them), and made something actually delicious with what she had on hand. You can find the original recipe at MidCenturyMenu, but I simplified this even more to be as cheap, fast and easy as possible. My version is below, and the steps I took to make it are somewhat unorthodox, too.
The main thing to keep in mind with this cake is to use what you have on hand. Have some apples or pears about to go bad? Dice those up and toss 2 cups into the cake instead of the can of apple pie filling. Have leftover nuts from Christmas? Chop those and use in place of the walnuts. If you don’t have raisins, replace with canned pineapple or leave them out altogether.
If you use the cinnamon and sugar combination to prepare the bundt pan, you may notice your cake comes out dark. Rest assured, it’s not burned. You can use flour if you’d prefer, but I like to use the sugar and cinnamon to give the cake a little extra crunch and flavor.
And the original recipe called for cooked pinto beans that were fresh, dried or frozen. I used canned because it’s what I had available, they are already cooked, and I can’t taste any difference between canned and the other preparations.
As for how much time to bake the cake, I say start with 50 minutes and add or subtract time according to your oven. Everyone’s oven bakes differently so keep an eye on the cake after 50 minutes and check for doneness in 5-minute increments.
To ice or not to ice? I say a cake without icing is a great big muffin. You can make homemade frosting, dust the cooled cake with powdered sugar, ice with whipped cream or grab a cheap can of store-bought frosting, melt it to pourable consistency in the microwave and drizzle to your heart’s content. Whatever you do, this cake will stand up to it.
I hope you try this and are pleasantly surprised. If you’ll excuse me, I have cake to eat.
KD Reep is a writer, public relations practitioner and aspiring romance author in Little Rock. She owns Flywrite Communications Inc., a marketing communications agency in Mabelvale. She is a six-time recipient of the Public Relations Society of America’s Prism award and has been published statewide as well as in the Arkansas Times, Savvy Magazine, Bourbon & Boots, Arkansas Money & Politics, Delta Farm Press and Rice Farmer magazine, among others.
Trust me. This is one fruitcake you and your Friends Will LIKE!
My introduction to the joys of the candied fruit found in fruitcake came early in my life. My mother made German cookies with chopped, candied citron every winter. Chewy-soft with mysteriously perfumed bits in them and the scant smear of glaze to make them shine, Lebkuchen were an adored part of our heritage from the Old Country.
But fruitcakes are not German.
My dad often received gifts of dried/candied fruits, displayed on decorative platters. These we found interesting and delicious when our dad allowed us samples.
But fruitcakes are not simply fruit.
Sometimes my dad received the gift of a fruitcake.
Like shy maidens with an ugly suitor, we ran and hid when our parents opened fruitcake packages. Our dad, a gleam in his eyes, no doubt reminiscing about fruitcakes of yore, insisted on sharing these tough, repugnant slabs of spiced cardboard.
We whimpered.
Were we alone in not adoring fruitcake? No!
Many, like us, have suffered from gifting of a winter fruitcake! Why, I heard of one family, among which a gift fruitcake passed around from branch to branch, for decades, until it finally had traversed the entire family tree, unopened and unsampled! I get that.
Reality dawns.
I was in my mid-twenties when I encountered a really good fruitcake. I’m not sure what possessed me to try one—maybe memories of my dad? It had such a bizarre name: Rainbow Party Bar. It was small, the length of a loaf pan but half the width, like a squared sausage. When I saw the price, I was shocked, but for some crazy reason, I just wanted it.
I brought it home and unwrapped it.
It smelled good, so I sampled.
It was amazing. I could not stay out of it. I could not even believe it. My heart leapt with happiness every time I snuck yet another slice.
I was addicted.
Before long, I had analyzed the label, looking for some mysterious ingredient. (This thing was really, really good; did I mention that?)
Near the top of the ingredients list lay the secret:
Butter.
Yes, this fruitcake had more butter than it had any one type of fruit, and I think it safe to say, more butter than any other fruitcake I’d ever eaten. As I kept sampling, I knew the butter was one major difference from all the fruitcakes that had gone before.
Nothing would do but to find a recipe for this delicacy.
I tried several (really bad ones) before I devised the perfect recipe. We have become so enamored with this cake that many of us, who did not like fruitcake, have learned to find cheer in the mere thought of it.
Our friends beg for it.
Now, I’m not promising that if you make this fruitcake, your whole family and all your friends will fall into proper love with the idea of eating it. I will say this: It is so good, you will not ever again be sad if some uninitiated child leaves “more for you”.
Place fruits and brandy in a large, non-reactive bowl that can be covered.
Stir well and allow fruit to soak, covered, 24 hours, stirring 6 times.
Pans
Prepare pans before mixing cake. Select pans in the shape you want for your cake. Either a ten-cup tube pan, an 8-cup tube and one 5 1/2-cup x 9 ½-cup loaf, or three loaf pans will do the job, to give you an idea. It rises, but not a lot. I have baked small amounts in mini soufflé pans before, too. Baking times for smaller pans will be shorter.
Cut parchment paper to fit the bottoms and sides of your pans. For a loaf pan, you will need five pieces, for the four sides and the bottom. For a tube pan, you will need one circle with the center removed, for the bottom, and several small pieces, maybe 3”-4” square, to overlap on the sides. You may prefer plain brown paper, as I do. You do not need to place paper on the tube, itself. But do grease it.
Grease the pans generously with butter or olive oil, insert the papers, which should stick pretty cooperatively, then grease the papers, too. A spray-type oil helps with the second greasing. This fat is necessary. You will be sorry if you do not use butter or oil, paper, and more butter or oil. It is a messy job, but important—so important, that if you buy fruitcake, you may notice paper still attached to it.
Cake
Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Arrange one rack in the center.
Cream the butter and sugar.
Blend the eggs in well, one at a time.
Sift together all dry ingredients, except nuts.
Gradually add dry ingredients to egg mixture, beating well after each addition.
With a spoon, stir in nuts, fruit, and all liquid remaining in the fruit. Mix well.
Separate batter into prepared pans and bake at 275 degrees, for two to three hours. Yes. It takes a while. It’s worth it. Doneness will be hard to determine, but it will begin to brown around the edges before it is actually done. Brown all over is better. Gooey in the middle is not the goal for this cake. The toothpick test will not work, nor will the touch test with a finger; it should be a bit darker over the top than you thought.
Once it is cool, but still in the pan, you may choose to sprinkle about 1/8 cup more brandy over it, to soak the cake. The traditional purpose was to sort of pickle it so it would keep well. I do not do this, because I often feed it to children.
Remove from pans when cool enough to handle. Remove paper from sides, but not from bottom. Allow to cool completely. If you want party bars, with a long, sharp knife, carefully press to cut loaves in half, lengthwise, cutting through the bottom paper (the only exception about the paper.) Do not remove the bottom paper from these halves. Many people also cut a tube cake into halves. I do, because it is easier to wrap for the freezer that
Wrap in waxed paper. Then tightly wrap in foil. In addition to that, add a zipper bag, to protect the foil from tearing. Freeze.
Notes
The best time to slice is after freezing. It slices more neatly when frozen or even when frozen and then thawed. Otherwise, expect wasteful crumbs and broken slices. For gifts, I pre-slice it (to the paper, not through the paper) since few people realize it should be frozen first.
Traditionally, we do not remove or slice through the bottom paper until serving. Even when you buy it, you’ll often find it pre-sliced with the bottom paper remaining. This is because this cake is nearly equally batter and fruit, and will fall apart easily. The paper just holds the cake together so you can better manage it.
This fruitcake is amazing with fresh, black coffee. For the sugar-immune, it is also amazing with eggnog. I’ve enjoyed it with a cranberry/cream cheese topping. The recommended wine pairing is a tawny port, but we like something drier, such as our own semi-sec apple wine.
Katharine Trauger is a retired educator and a women’s counselor. She has spent 25 years managing a home and school for children who would otherwise have been homeless, and has worked 15 years as contributor and/or columnist for several small professional magazines, with over 60 published articles. She blogs about the rising popularity of “being at home” from a sun room on a wooded hilltop in the Deep South at: Home’s Cool! and The Conquering Mom and tweets at Katharine Trauger (@KathaTrau). She is currently working on a self-help book entitled: Yes, It Hurts, But . . .
The Foodie Friday 2016 theme is #Celebrate. Come join us as we focus on a different way to #Celebrate each month. In January we are all about “Celebrate Celebrations.” I can’t think of a better way to kick off a brand new year than with this Ding Dong Cake from Rhonda Bramell of Bramell: Party of Five.
Should you find yourself in need of an easy (yet impressive) dessert for a special occasion, check this one out. My friends, this is the dessert that will woo your enemies and win you admirers for life. This is my go-to recipe when I need a birthday cake, office potluck dessert or just for the “lots of people coming over” occasion.
The beauty of the Ding Dong Cake is that it looks like it was completely labor intensive and difficult to make. Alas, it’s not! There are only a few ingredients and it doesn’t require a culinary degree to pull off. And, I might add, there’s nothing better than homemade whipped cream
The downside to making this cake is simply the temptation of having it in your house. As a result, I don’t make it as often as I’d like…because I would totally eat it myself. As my kindergartener demanded as I removed it from the fridge, “Give me the cake now!”
I definitely suggest making this your next celebration dessert, too. Or, at the very least, go grab a gallon of milk and a fork and celebrate your baking victory!
Rhonda Bramell is a blogger in Northwest Arkansas. She is the ringleader of a circus that includes her husband, three kids and a rambunctious Boston Terrier. Rhonda has been blogging at Bramell, Party of Five for eight years; her blog is a collection of stories about the real life joys and challenges of parenting.
I spent most of October experimenting with and developing recipes with pumpkin, pumpkin seeds or pepitas as an ingredient in preparation for my “starring role’ on THV 11 This Morning. Gary’s Favorite Pumpkin Bread was one of those dishes I took with me since it seems to be a real favorite of everyone with whom we have ever shared it. Probably most of you either don’t get up early enough (really early) or you live outside the viewing range of that program, but I have enjoyed the opportunity tof appearing on three occasions so far and, hopefully, will be looking at more in the future. I digress.
I’ve explored all the Top 10 Ways to Enjoy Pumpkin and then some. When it comes to pumpkin, many people automatically think of pie. In fact, in a survey conducting by Schwan’s Consumer Brands of North America, 37 % of Americans named the pumpkin pie as their favorite only being nudged out by apple at 47%. While I do love a good piece of pumpkin pie, I seldom make one. When I do, it is more likely to be something in the nature of a hand pie or a tart. When it comes to sweet pumpkin baking, I’m much more likely to serve up a pumpkin roll, pumpkin spice cake, pumpkin spice doughnuts (oh my goodness!) or pumpkin cinnamon rolls. And I’m not above enjoying those while sipping on some pumpkin spice latte.
I am just as likely to use pumpkin in a savory manner as I am one that is sweet. Roasted Pumpkin and Brussels Sprouts is one of the side dishes that we really enjoy. As they caramelize, both take on a delectable and rich sweetness. Throw on a little crumbled Petit Jean Bacon or some cubes of crispy pancetta and you have a mouth full of autumn! Make this slow cooker Chicken with Pumpkin Seed Mole I shared over on Taste Arkansas a regular part of your menu plan. Oh and pumpkin soup? Yes, please. I recently made a version that used navy beans, sage and hot Italian sausage that was hearty and delicious. It was even better warmed up the next day for lunch.
Did you know that a pumpkin is not a vegetable? In fact, it’s a berry. Within family Cucurbitaceae, which includes cucumbers, melons, squash, and gourds is the genus Cuacurbita which includes gourds, winter and summer squash, and all varieties of pumpkin. They are indigenous to North America which is one of the reasons they probably appeared at the early Thanksgiving feasts. However, more than likely, pie would not have been one of those dishes on the harvest table since flour and sugar were not readily available or affordable during that time.
Do you get the idea that we like and never seem to tire of pumpkin at our house?
The original idea for Gary’s Favorite Pumpkin Bread began with Mrs. Watson from my hometown. She was always willing to bake up a batch and would often share a loaf or two with Hubby and me when we were first married. Because we were either working or going to school or both, baking was not high on my cooking priority list even though it was and is one of my favorite things to do now. Mrs. Watson, I’m sure, felt sorry for my skinny hubs and thought she might fatten him up a tad. Eventually, she shared her recipe when she decided that I might just be able to keep up with the demands of filling his tummy.
Many years ago, I began making her bread as a way of sharing during the Christmas holidays. At first, it was a couple of recipes and a few loaves. Our friends. Our families. No one turned it down. Then it started going to work with us and then to our daughter’s school. And the list grew. And grew. When people see Hubby around the holidays, they automatically assume he is making pumpkin bread deliveries. I stopped counting at 93 loaves last year.
Some of you will remember the ONE year Arkansas participated in the Super Tuesday (1988) election process; some of you weren’t even born yet, I’m sure. Hubby was a candidate for public office in a three-county race that pretty much required us to go door to door asking for votes. There were many days and nights when it was so dang cold that my lips seemed to freeze together! On one particularly cold and snowy day, Hubby took small loaves of bread around with him as he campaigned. Some people credit his victory to that pumpkin bread! I guess it makes for a good story, but I do know that some of his supporters are always asking when the next delivery of pumpkin bread will arrive.
I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. For more ways to use pumpkin, both sweet and savory, visit DiningWithDebbie. I’d love to know some of your family favorites as well.
1 cup (or more) chopped pecans or walnuts, lightly toasted
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Spray two large bread loaf pans with nonstick spray.
Combine sugar, oil and eggs; beat well.
Add pumpkin and mix well.
Sift (I don't EVEN do this anymore.) together dry ingredients.
Add water and beat well. Stir in nuts.
Pour into large loaf pans.
Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. (If you use a convection oven, you may want to shorten this time.)
Cool slightly on cake racks before removing from the pans.
Notes
If you want to use other size pans, just adjust the time spent in the oven. This can be wrapped in heavy duty aluminum foil and frozen. It keeps well. My daughter replaces the nuts with chocolate chips due to our grandson's nut allergy. She bakes them as mini-muffins for their lunches (as I did for her).
By Dining With Debbie
Arkansas Women Bloggers https://arkansaswomenbloggers.com/
Arkansas Women Blogger member and co-administrator Debbie Arnold pontificates and eats at Dining With Debbie. She and her Hubby split their time between Central and Northwest Arkansas. She loves to cook, develop recipes and have play dates with her two perfect grands. Mostly, she has play dates with the Perfect Ones. Twitter: @diningwithdeb Intagrams : @diningwithdebbie
writer, public relations practitioner and aspiring author in Little Rock. She owns Flywrite Communications Inc., a marketing communications agency in Mabelvale. She is a six-time recipient of the Public Relations Society of America’s Prism award and has been published statewide as well as in the Arkansas Times, Inviting Arkansas, Savvy Magazine, Bourbon & Boots, Arkansas Money & Politics, Delta Farm Press and Rice Farmer magazine, among others. 
