Pumpkins in the South ripen on the vine and are ready for harvesting right around Halloween. They look really beautiful blanketed across fields and occasionally in home gardens, although pumpkins need quite a bit of ground space to grow.
The familiar bright orange pumpkins are generally considered “cow pumpkins” rather than cooking pumpkins (which are smaller and darker in color). Although the family jack-o-lantern can be cooked down to make pumpkin puree and baked pumpkin seeds, the best cooking pumpkins are the sweet pumpkins.
Today many people simply buy caned pumpkin, since it takes quite a bit of work to cook down and save pumpkin. Packed pumpkin is sold as well as pumpkin pie filling. The cans look similar, but the two products are different. Pumpkin pie filling has spices already added, so adding more to a recipe calling for regular canned pumpkin can result in a conflict of flavors.
Fresh mashed pumpkin or canned pumpkin can be used to make all kinds of great baked goods. One of the most popular of the pumpkin recipes is Southern Pumpkin Bread. It’s a nice moist bread that is especially great hot out of the oven with butter or cream cheese.
Southern Pumpkin Bread Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup shortening (Crisco etc)
- 2 2/3 cup sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups pumpkin (homemade puree or canned pumpkin)
- 2/3 cup orange juice (can use water instead)
- 3 ½ cups plain flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 cup nuts chopped (pecans, walnuts etc)
- 1 cup raisins (can use chopped dates instead)
Directions:
- Cream sugar and shortening well in a large mixing bowl.
- Add eggs one at a time and mix.
- Add pumpkin and juice and mix.
- Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix with pumpkin mixture. Do not over mix, because over mixing this type of bread will make it heavy and tough.
- Fold in nuts and raisins with a big spoon or spatula.
- Grease and flour two standard sized 5 x 7 bread loaf pans and divide batter evenly between the two baking pans.
- Bake pumpkin bread for an hour and fifteen minutes at 350 degrees F.
Other Terrific Fall Recipes:
Pumpkin Dip Recipe - Make a delicous pumpkin flavored dip that is wonderful with ginger snap cookies.
Bisquick Sausage Balls - It's hard to eat just one. Sausage balls are easy to make and are always popular at fall gatherings.
Maple No Bake Cookies - These no bake drop cookies are similar to chocolate no bake cookies, but they do not have a chocolate flavor. Instead, they have a rich fall maple taste.
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