Food That Smells Like Fall: Cranberry Pumpkin Bread

To me and millions like me there is nothing that says fall more than pumpkin. I completely indulge in this fruit when the weather turns cool and am always looking for new renditions on how to experiment with such a versatile food. It can be turned savory, rich, sweet and decadent dishes while still encompassing the very flavor of the fruit...the recipes are endless. One of my favorites which the kids love (and saves me money from buying it from Starbucks on our morning coffee runs) is pumpkin bread. I tweak it based on our current palate moods but the base of the recipe always stays the same and is so wonderfully rich in taste but easy to pull off. In this rendition we use cranberries an nuts (which can be omitted based on preference) . Enjoy!!

Ingredients:

• ½ cup butter, melted

• 1 can of pure pumpkin puree

• 1/2 cup white sugar

• 1/2 brown sugar ( I think it adds more depthness of flavor to your sweet breads)

• 2 large eggs eggs

• 1 teaspoon all spice

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg ( I use the container or I zest my own dependent on what I have one hand)

• 1 teaspoon of ground cardamom

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 1/4 cup sour cream

• ½ cup chopped pecans

• 1/2 cup to a cup of dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper, making sure to go over the edges of the pan with the parchment paper and grease parchment with cooking spray.

In a mixer beat on low speed together the melted butter, pumpkin puree and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla, mixing well. Combine the flour, all spice powder, cinnamon, nutmeg cardamom, baking soda and salt in another bowl and then add in slowly to the butter mixture until smooth. Finally, fold in the sour cream, pecans and cranberries. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool loaf in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.