Saturday, October 30, 2010

Pumpkin Gingerbread Recipe


The air is brisk this morning and hung with expectations of colder days to come. Most of the leaves have fallen from the branches, leaving a patchwork of crazy-quilted colors underfoot in autumn's palette of ochre, russet. crimson, and gold. Bittersweet berries and fox grapes dangle from their windswept tendrils, and a myriad of frost pictures etch windows and leaves. The sharp scent of woodsmoke fills the air, along with the dusky smell of fallen foilage. The air rings with mixed echoes of ax, chainsaw, geese and gunshot. It is time to refrain from walks deep in the woods.

Something stirs my soul this time of year, as if long-departed ancestors call me homeward. My heart longs for something forgotten... something packed away amid layers of time that I know is there somewhere but I cannot quite lay my fingers upon it. It is a call to remember those things from long ago... to recollect and reflect upon the wisdom and ways of times past. I long to settle in and reread some of my favorite books by authors such as Eric Sloane, Tasha Tudor, James Whitcomb Riley and Laura Lee Hope! Though I long to be outdoors still, the kitchen and fireside beckon me with warmth, baking, and books to be read.

I have been yearning to take up rug hooking and I'd like to cross stitch a few samplers to hang upon my walls. I would also like to create a few small floorcloths, as I have been slowly refinishing various rooms of my home. I have a pile of projects that need tackling, and furniture that needs refinishing... things I have put off during the summer due to more pressing chores at hand.

The constant work of the gardens ended overnight with a harsh killing frost, and though there is a sad finale about that fact, there is also a sense of relief in knowing there is only one more chore that beckons from them this year, and that is a final clean-up of the blackened and dried vines and stems which provided so many jars and boxes of produce this growing season. I need only go down in the cellar pantry to see the garden's jeweled remains... jars of jellies, jams, pickles, sauces, and dried fruits and vegetables, lined up and waiting for winter's use.

I've included a recipe given to me close to 30 years ago from my friend Rachel. Her note states that this gingerbread is "nice and moist, with good flavor". I couldn't agree more, and my children loved this when they were little, served warm fresh from the oven with lots of whipped cream! It makes a good-sized pan, but it freezes well, too! An added bonus is that each serving contains a good portion of Vitamin A and Iron.
**Oh good grief, I just realized i published this same recipe last year! Sorry for the repeat!

Pumpkin Gingerbread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 13" X 9" pan. Combine the following dry ingredients in a large bowl, mixing well.

2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
2 teaspoons Ginger
1/2 teaspoon Cloves
3 1/2 cups Flour
2 cups Sugar

Add the following wet ingredients, and beat together well til all is combined.
1 cup soft Butter
1/2 cup Molasses
1/3 cup Water
4 Eggs
2 cups of pureed Pumpkin

Pour into prepared pan, and bake for about an hour. remove from oven, cool slightly, and serve warm with (homemade) whipped cream!

15 comments:

  1. I knew I should have picked up Molasses while I was in town. I'm aching to make more pumpkin goodies. This recipe looks like a hit!. You are a marvelous writer Laura. You should publish a book on farm life. Come visit my blog sometime. I just started it this year. Organic gardener, baker etc...loads in common. Happy Halloween. Pammy

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  2. Hello dear friends! I'm sorry I didn't respond sooner... no phone line for over a week, and we still only have crank-up...er, dial-up in our rural area, so no computer unless I went to my son's. Grrrr!
    I'm heading over to your blogs for a visit right now! Thanks for stopping in! xox, Laura

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  3. Laura,

    Can't wait to try this recipe. I have a friend who just opened an Etsy shop and will be contacting you about a banner. I will always be grateful to you for all your help with my blog!!

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  4. Hi Laura, I'm so glad you got to visit my Blog. I finally got to pick up some molasses this weekend, so I plan on doing this ginger bread this week. Had to buy yet another Jarahdale pumpkin LOL can't help it they are on sale. Wondering if you have ever put this bread up in the freezer and how well it did for you. Thanks Bunches!!! And watching for fruit cake recipe and your new artwork looks totally awesome on here!!

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  5. Good morning Pammy! I haven't tried it in the freezer, as it usually is eaten all up! Try it with a piece or two, and let me know if you do. I am so silly... I was going through my old posts and realized I had published this recipe last year, along with the Pumpkin Fruitcake AND Pumpkin Roll. There's also one for Pumpkin Spice Pancakes, as well. If you scroll down to the left side of my blog, you'll find my Recipe archive, and the recipes are there... just click on Pumpkin Fruit Cake. I apparently left off a whole year of my blog content... good thing I updated BEFORE I re-published those too! Sorry for any inconvienience, Pammy. You're a sweetheart!

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  6. How sweet of you, Sharon! Hope all is well with you and yours. I have got to try the recipe for the Pumpkin Dip you have on your blog... it sounds soooo good! I love peeking at all the treasures you find at the flea markets... you certainly get some wonderful bargains. And "downsizing" is a four-letter word... bad news! So keep on adding to your collections without any guilt! At least that's my motto!

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  7. Love your motto! All it takes is a little encouragement to remove any guilt! LOL

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  8. Tee hee... absolutely, Sharon! My children try to lay that D-word on me all the time. And the H-word (hoarder!) I let it go in one ear and right out the other!

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  9. Oooo, this sounds scrumptious. I'll have to give it a try! Thanks for sharing

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  10. Hello Heirlooms by Ashton House! Your blog is darling! I stopped in for just a quick peek (my grandbabies are waking from naptime!) but I'll get back! Do try the Pumpkin Gingerbread... it is yummy! I've been wanting to try it with walnuts or sliced candied ginger....
    Thank you for visiting!

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  11. I am so slow, or just need another pair of hands, today I'm baking another heirloom pumpkin and going to make the pumpkin gingerbread. I'm thinking I might try it in some mini loaves. Did you get to try the lemon bars. Will let you know how it comes out. Thanks

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  12. Hello Pammy! Yes... I have made I think FIVE panfuls of your scrumptious Lemon Bars!! And I have the hips to prove it! They are so good, and so simple to make. The first batch I made for my mom, but she only got two of them, as one of my sons amd my daughter ate them (um... me too!) So I made a second batch early the next morning, and mom got some of those, along with your recipe. I just keep making them 'cause they're that good!

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  13. Hi Laura! I just love lemon!! So glad you are enjoying them. Oh your pumpkin gingerbread is soooo good!! I made them into mini loaves so I can put them in gift baskets for Christmas! I have to make more though cuz one little mini loaf was not enough for the family LOL I blogged them today and bragged on Laura from Wildenblue farms =)

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  14. Good morning, Pammy! I'm glad you liked the Pumpkin Gingerbread recipe... mini loaves are a great idea! Someday, I want to try a batch using pecans and snipped candied ginger pieces added. You are a sweetheart for sharing the recipe in your blog. Thank you, Pammy! xox ~Laura

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