Pumpkin Cream-Cheese Bread

Some of my recipes have stories that go with it.  This one doesn’t really.  Except that once I made it for one of my friends who doesn’t usually oooh and ahhh over food, but when she tried this simply said: I love this. Make it for me again and again.

Okay.  I will.

This recipe is a lot like other loaf bread recipes, except that seasonal pumpkin makes it sooooo moist.  And the cream-cheese mixture is a sweet little surprise inside.  And the bonus? This recipe makes two loaves: one to gobble up immediately, and one for tomorrow’s breakfast.  It also freezes really well.

INGREDIENTS:

FILLING:

• 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 TAB flour
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

BREAD:

• 1 2/3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon EACH cinnamon, cloves, salt
• 1/4 teaspoon EACH ginger, nutmeg
• 1 1/4 cups pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil OR sugar-free, plain yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

CINNAMON GLAZE:

• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 1 1/2 TAB milk
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, flour, egg, and vanilla.  Beat until smooth and creamy.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, blend flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg, set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin puree, oil (or yogurt), eggs, and sugar.  Beat well.  Stir the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture just until combined.  Fold in the chopped nuts of your choice.

Pour half of the pumpkin bread batter evenly into two greased and floured loaf pans.  Spoon cream cheese mixture on top of the pumpkin batter layers in each loaf pan and then spoon or pour on the remaining pumpkin batter (if you don’t have enough pumpkin batter to cover the cream cheese layer entirely, that’s okay, because you’ll be swirling them together anyway). Take a knife and swirl around in the top two layers, creating a marbling effect.

Bake in a preheated 325° oven for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the loaf comes out clean.  Cool bread in pans for 15 minutes, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

In the meantime, make your glaze.  Whisk together icing sugar, cinnamon, and half and half until smooth.  Drizzle over cooled loaves.

Makes 2 loaves.