Caramel-Frosted Pumpkin Bread

This pumpkin bread has been a holiday favorite in my family for years!  It’s not the easiest recipe ever, but if you move quickly you can get it in the oven within 10 or 15 minutes.  And it is DELICIOUS!  It’s a perfect treat to take to a Christmas party, and I bet your family will also want some at home for breakfast, snack, or dessert.  Try making some up in muffin tins for an easy breakfast the kids can help themselves to! 

One year I baked these in decorative mini loaf pans (purchased at Michaels for $1 each) and gave them to my co-workers as Christmas gifts.  Yummy homemade baked stuff like this is a great gift option for colleagues, church friends, or others for whom you are not sure whether you need to get a gift or not.  It’s affordable and a small enough gift that the recipient won’t feel bad if they didn’t get you something in return.  Besides, everybody appreciates yummy food!

Note: this recipe makes 2 medium-large loaves.

4 eggs

15 oz can pumpkin
1 cup oil
2/3 cup water
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups whole-wheat flour
3 cups sugar
1 ½ tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
            In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, pumpkin, oil, and water; mix well.  Add dry ingredients and mix lightly just until combined (stir to remove lumps, but don’t overmix).   Spray two loaf pans with non-stick spray, and divide batter evenly between pans.  Bake at 350 for about 1 hour (test with a toothpick).  Cool for 15 minutes, then run a table knife around edges of pan to loosen loaf before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.  Frost when cooled.

Frosting:

3 tablespoons margarine
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons half-and-half
~ 2/3 cup powdered sugar
¾ tsp vanilla
            In a small saucepan, combine margarine, sugar, brown sugar, and half-and-half.  Heat on the stove over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugars seem to be mostly dissolved.  Remove from heat and let cool.  Transfer to a small mixing bowl and add powdered sugar (start with ½ cup) and vanilla; mix well with a fork.  Add more powdered sugar as needed for frosting to reach desired consistency (you want to be able to drizzle it without it being too runny).  Drizzle generously over loaves.  YUM!