Pumpkin Pie Bread

This is a quick bread my hubby made that tastes a lot like pumpkin pie. It's even better when served the next day.

Back in October I took my boys to the Pumpkin Patch for the Preschool fieldtrip,
we came home with a beautiful blue pumpkin.  

We never carved it so in early November we chunked it up, baked it {scoop out the seeds and place cut side down in a large glass baking dish, bake @ 350'F for 20-40min until tender} 

 

and pureed it in the food processor into beautiful orange puree.  

Would you believe it made nearly 12 cups of puree?

We used up some more of that homemade pumpkin puree for this recipe.  The mini muffins were a hit at my son's Preschool snack time this week. This recipe makes either two 9x5 loafs or one loaf and 48 mini muffins. Another fun use for our trusty mini muffin tin. Enjoy and try getting the kids in the kitchen to help.

Recipe: makes 2 (9x5) loafs OR one (9x5) loaf and 48 mini muffins

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (may need up to 4 cups)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup Plain yogurt
4 eggs
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree (or ~2 cups homemade pumpkin puree)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup walnuts, optional

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350' F. Spray two 9x5 inch loaf pans with cooking spray (or prepare mini muffin tin if using), not necessary to spray Stoneware pans. Sift dry ingredients together; 3 1/2 cups of flour, the baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, beat together sugar, oil, yogurt, eggs, and pumpkin puree. Add dry ingredients 1/2 cup at a time, add the water. If your pumpkin puree is thin you may need to add up to 1/2 cup more flour here until you get a cake batter type consistency. Stir in walnuts if using. Divide batter evenly between the prepared pans, use a tablespoon to fill the mini muffins about 3/4 full.

3. Bake for 1 hour-1 hour, 10 minutes for a loaf size, 10-14 minutes for mini muffins or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Store wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature.