Pumpkin Butterscotch Bread

Fall is finally here. I mean, technically it’s been here for awhile, but this past week, the weather got much cooler, the leaves all around me completely changed color, and the idea of planning my Thanksgiving menu suddenly didn’t seem so silly. And so to celebrate the more in-your-face version of fall that I’ve come to love, I decided to whip up this easy recipe for pumpkin butterscotch bread.

Now I’ve had different versions of pumpkin bread, some much sweeter than others. And of course I love them all. This particular recipe makes a sweeter, dessert-type of bread. You can thank the butterscotch flavor for that.

I happen to really enjoy the combination of pumpkin and butterscotch, but if you’re not a fan, you can easily swap out the butterscotch chips for semisweet chocolate, dark chocolate, cinnamon, or even white chocolate. Or, you can omit the chips completely and just enjoy the pumpkin flavor on its own.

Whatever you decide to do, just make sure to add pumpkin bread to your list of fall baking musts. With a recipe this easy and quick, you’d be silly to miss out.

Pumpkin Butterscotch Bread

Ingredients:

1 cup AP flour
1/2 tsp baking soa
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 large egg
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup packed pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)
3/4 cup butterscotch chips

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan and set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs, and then whisk together with the sugar, oil, water, pumpkin, and vanilla.
Stir in the flour mixture until well-combined.
Stir in the butterscotch chips, mixing well.
Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for one hour, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Let the bread cool in its pan for at least an hour before cutting and serving.

Oct 21

Monster Cookie Bars

I’ve been on a pretty big pumpkin and apple kick lately, so I was surprised to find myself craving something peanut buttery the other day. Fortunately, these monster bars did the trick, and they gave me an excuse to finally use up the open bag of M&Ms that was sitting around taking up space in my pantry.

These bars are really easy to make, and because they’re so colorful and fun-looking, they’re a great thing to bring to parties or potlucks. They also freeze pretty well, so if you’re not like me and can’t finish an entire pan in a few days’ time, storing them that way is also an option.

Monster Cookie Bars

Recipe from The Baker Mama

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cups AP flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 and 1/2 cups peanut butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup rolled oats (the old-fashioned kind, not the quick kind)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup M&Ms

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350. Grease a 13×9 baking pan and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
In a separate bowl, beat the butter and peanut butter until smooth.
Add the sugars and beat until well-blended.
Add the vanilla and eggs and mix until light and fluffy.
Gradually incorporate the flour mixture into the wet mixture until just combined.
Mix in the oats until well-combined.
Stir in the chocolate chips and M&Ms.
Press the dough into your prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let the bars cool in the pan for an hour or so before slicing and serving.

When stored in an airtight container, these bars should keep for a good 4-5 days. Or, as mentioned above, you can easily freeze your leftovers.

Oct 20

Pumpkin M&M Oat Bars

One of my favorite things about October is the abundance of seasonal pumpkin items available in stores. Case in point: Pumpkin Spice M&Ms. From what I hear, these babies can only be found at Target, and even though they’re not overwhelmingly pumpkin-flavored, they’re worth picking up for the color scheme alone. I decided to incorporate them into an oatmeal bar, and that actually really worked to bring out the pumpkin taste.

Believe it or not, these bars aren’t as sweet as your typical brownie or blondie, even with the candy pieces incorporated throughout. I really happen to enjoy the combination of pumpkin and chocolate, so in my book, these are a hit (and my coworkers, who helped me polish off the batch, seemed to agree).

Pumpkin M&M Oat Bars

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cups AP flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup pumpkin
1 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup Pumpkin Spice M&Ms (if you can’t find these, dark chocolate chunks or semisweet chocolate chips should work just as well; you can even use regular old M&Ms)

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350. Grease a 13×9 baking pan and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
In a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugars until smooth.
Whisk or beat in the egg and vanilla, and mix until light and fluffy.
Stir in the flour and oats, mixing until well-combined.
Stir in the M&Ms.
Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let the bars cool in the pan for at least an hour before slicing and serving.