Month: October 2026

Spiced Pumpkin Walnut Bread

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ Leave a comment

I am so ready for autumn. The cooler days, hot chocolate and warm spices. Comfort food. My Spiced Pumpkin Walnut Bread is the perfect loaf to get you in the mood. Have it with coffee, tea or a glass of milk, close your eyes and inhale those lovely spices. One bite will bring thoughts of leaves turning golden and russet, swirling their dramatic last dance before next Spring. My husband, cat and I cuddled on the couch with music in the background and our fireplace aglow. Something comforting and delicious will be on the stovetop and fresh bread is ready for the oven. And I’ve just taken my favorite sweater from the back of my cabinet behind the tee-shirts.

As delicious as the Spiced Pumpkin Walnut Bread is, it’s even better the day after you bake it when the flavors have fully developed. This was just what I needed to get me thinking about Thanksgiving, which will be here sooner than I think.

I’ve made pumpkin breads before, but frankly, they’ve aways been a bit disappointing. So I went looking for a new one. I came across this on a site called Sally’s Baking Addiction. I used it for my base, but then made several changes to suit our tastes. Sally’s baking always looks interesting and I really liked that this recipe did not require using a mixer. My version uses more spice and I substituted nuts for the chocolate chips. I love chocolate but I don’t believe that it is necessary in every dessert.

I like my pumpkin pie on the spicey side – not hot – just lovely rich, warm spices. Nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and some deep, dark molasses. My secret ingredient is to add a few cracks of black pepper to the spice mix. You can, of course, buy pumpkin spice mix at most grocery stores, but making your own is so much better. Your house will smell inviting and cozy. The Spiced Pumpkin Walnut Bread makes me just want to curl up with my husband, cat and a good book.

While I generally hate recipes that don’t use entire cans of whatever I food I am making. But having a bit of leftover pumpkin puree is never a problem to use up. I use it stews, soups, curries and will sub out some of my applesauce in my next batch of muffins. It lends a silky richness without substantially changing the flavors of the other ingredients. And it’s a great way to add in some extra beta carotene to your diet!

RECIPE

Yield: One 9 x 5″ loaf

INGREDIENTS

1.75 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour (219g)

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon each: ground nutmeg, allspice, cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

3 to 4 cracks of freshly ground black pepper

3/4 teaspoon of kosher salt

1 generous Tablespoon of dark, robust molasses

2 large eggs at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar (150g)

1.5 cups of pumpkin puree (349g) [I prefer canned pumpkin puree to making my own. The results are more consistent.]

1/2 cup neutral vegetable oil (120ml) [I like avocado oil, but canola or melted refined coconut oil are all good as well]

1/4 cup of fresh orange juice

2/3 cups of coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans, lightly toasted

DIRECTIONS

Place your oven rack in the lower third of your oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a metal pan (preferably non-stick) with a non-stick spray or its equivalent. I like to then place a piece of parchment in the bottom of the pan with the ends overlapping the sides for easier removal. I then lightly spray the parchment. Set this aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, nuts, salt and spices together to combine. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugars until combined. Then whisk in the pumpkin puree, oil and orange juice. Once the wet ingredients are well combined, add them into the dry ingredients. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold the mixture just until there is no more flour showing. Do not overmix.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and give the pan a gentle shake to oven things out. Tap it once or twice on the counter to remove any air bubbles.

Place the pan into the hot oven and bake for 30 minutes. Then lightly cover the pan with some foil to keep the top from over browning and bake for an additional 30+ minutes. Ovens vary. My bread took an additional 10 minutes before a toothpick came out clean. But your oven may run hotter. Because it is difficult to dry out this bread, I then left it in the oven without the foil cover and with the oven TURNED OFF for an additional 10 minutes.

Remove the pan to a wire cooling rack and allow the bread to cool until you can easily touch the pan with your bare hand – about 15 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan and allow it to continue cooling. Unless you will be using it right away, once completely cooled, wrap it well in foil and waxed paper and then placed in a plastic bag. Perfect on its own, you might also enjoy it slathered with softened cream cheese or lightly sweetened mascarpone, flavored with orange zest. Unless your house is very cool, you will want to refrigerate this after the first day.

Sour Cherry Blondies

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ Leave a comment

As I’ve gotten older I have developed a sweet tooth. My husband always had one, so now we both enjoy a dessert after dinner. However, unlike my naturally slim husband, I can’t indulge as often as I would like. So when I do have dessert, it had better be worth it. These Sour Cherry Blondies are definitely worth it. Fudgy, chewy, impossibly sweet and yet with the sour cherries and toasted pecans, it’s just perfect.

A note of caution – only use a quality brand of white chocolate with no artificial ingredients. Use a premium white chocolate baking bar like Ghirardelli or Lindt or their white chocolate chips. There are other good brands out there depending on where you live. If you can’t get great ingredients – make something else until you can.

People would always ask me for recipes and then they’d come back to me and say that it didn’t taste the same when they made it. When I went through what they did to try to address the problem, it invariably came down to their choice of ingredients.

Sour Cherry Blondies are rich and I won’t pretend that there are any health benefits in eating them. But we can’t be good all of the time! So indulge occasionally. We usually save our indulgences for Shabbat and holidays. Since this week is Shabbat and Sukkot, maybe we can have two desserts!

For another interesting Blondie option, try Saffron Pistachio Blondies.

RECIPE

YIELD: About 16 squares in a 9-inch square pan

INGREDIENTS

1 cup of pecans (4 ounces)

1.5 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour (7.5 ounces)

1 teaspoon double acting baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of kosher or fine sea salt

12 Tablespoons unsalted butter (1.5 sticks), melted and cooled slightly

1.5 cups packed light or dark brown sugar (I always use dark brown) (10.5 ounces)

2 large eggs, room temperature

4 teaspoons of PURE vanilla extract or bean paste

6 ounces of white chocolate chips or bar chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup of dried sour cherries (Use fresh ones that are nice and moist and not tough)

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F with the rack in the middle. Spread the nuts on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until a deep golden brown. Transfer the nuts to a cutting board and allow them to cool. DO NOT TURN OFF THE OVEN!

While the nuts are toasting, line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment, leaving a couple of inches of overhang. Spray the parchment with baking spray or lightly oil and set aside.

In a small to medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt until combined.

In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter with the brown sugar until combined. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well.

Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture until just combined. But before that last fold or two, add in the nuts, white chocolate and sour cherries. Fold everything through until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake until the top is shiny, golden brown and has just begun to crack. This should take between 25 to 30 minutes. Ovens vary, but don’t overbake the Blondies. Just a note on timing. It’s personal, but I prefer my brownies and blondies more well-baked and with some crispiness to the edges. If you are like me, then add another 10 minutes to the baking time.

Allow the Blondies to cool completely on a wire rack and then remove them from the pan and cut into desired squares. Now enjoy!