Super Spiced Pumpkin Bread

 I know the holidays are over and maybe you are "pumpkin'd out", but if you have a left over can of pumpkin in your pantry that didn't end up in a pie this is a good reason to break it out!  I love pumpkin anything year round, my husband on the other hand does not feel the same :)  So I try and get my fix without torturing him too much and this recipe is great.  I make a big batch and freeze them so I always have some on hand.  I eat this as breakfast, a snack or dessert.  It is great to serve when you have company, to put in gift baskets or to just consume on any day that ends in "y"  :)  This started out as a generic recipe I found online about 2 years ago and since then I kept adding more spices and experimenting with the recipe until I came up with my favorite combo.  Everyone I know loves it.. I hope you do too!

Ingredients:

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup water

2 cups white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

*Preheat oven 350 degrees.  In a large bowl mix first 6 ingredients.  In another bowl mix the remaining dry ingredients.

Now stir the dry into the wet until combined.

Instead of greasing and flouring the pans, I spray with non stick spray and then with a teaspoon sprinkle in some regular sugar just like you would flour.  It adds a little sweet crust and makes this bread extra special.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, this may very depending on the size of your loaves so check at about 45 minutes... mine always seem to need more time, but then again my oven has a mind of it's own :)

This is the glorious goodness your patience rewards!!!  I made a double batch and it made two large loaves and 7 overflowing small ones..  I ran out of pans so these were definitely overfilled, but still delicious!

Add a little butter or even better cinnamon honey butter and you have a delicious treat!

Enjoy!  Lindsey