Cinnamon Topped Pumpkin Bread + A New Look

 These past few days have been kind of crazy for the two of us. Between school, work, church, and running a million errands, we really haven't been spending too much time at home. Yesterday I convinced myself that it was ok to relax a bit. I slept in, caught up on some work, and reheated leftovers for dinner. Yeah, it was one of those days. Today, however, was a little more productive. I went to the bank, the store, cleaned the house, and installed the new look for 2013. I know it's a little early but I didn't want to wait. I was tired of the same old thing and wanted to mix things up a bit. I can't tell you how much I love the templates that Blog Milk has over in their shop! I used Papier as the basis of the design and then imported my content. I love it! I know that a few other bloggers are using the same template right now, but the customization aspect really helps set each one apart. I also like that Blog Milk only releases 15 copies of each template, that way their sort of unique. Anyway, if you're looking to upgrade your look I highly recommend purchasing one of their templates, especially since custom design comes at a high cost... I'm talking upwards of $250 (and that's considered to be pretty cheap)!

Enough about that, now onto the bread! I only have a few more cans of pumpkin puree left in my pantry, and of course I was saving one for pumpkin bread, so here it is! I adapted a recipe that I found on allrecipes.com, and let me tell you, it was love at first bite. This bread is moist and sweet and covered in crunchy cinnamon goodness. It's everything a pumpkin lover could want and more! Seriously, this is good stuff people! I added the topping because I had some cinnamon chips and pecans, but if you're not a fan, just omit it, I promise it will be just as good! This bread would be awesome with a cream cheese swirl or studded with chocolate chips too... just throwing a few more ideas out there for you☺

Cinnamon Topped Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

1¾ c. all-purpose flour

1 c. sugar

½ c. brown sugar, packed

⅓ c. water

¼ c. oil

¼ c. butter

1 c. pumpkin puree

2 eggs

1 tsp. baking soda

¾ tsp. salt

½ tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

½ tsp. vanilla extract

Topping:

1 tbsp. flour

5 tbsp. brown sugar

1 tbsp. butter

1 tsp. cinnamon

¼ c. chopped pecans (optional)

¼ c. cinnamon baking chips (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray one 8 x 4 inch loaf pan with baking spray. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter, oil, and sugars. Mix until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, water, and vanilla, mix until smooth. Add in one egg at a time, mixing after each addition.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Whisk together. With mixing speed on low, gradually add dry ingredients. Mix until just incorporated.
4. Pour batter into prepared pan. Set aside.
5. To make the topping, in a small mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar and cinnamon. Cut in cold butter with a pastry blender. The mixture should resemble coarse crumbs. Sprinkle on top of batter along with nuts and cinnamon chips.
6. Place in oven and bake for 1 hour. The topping will begin to darken but should not burn. Remove from oven and let cool in pan on a wire rack for 1 hour before removing.

Adapted from allrecipes.com, Pumpkin Bread | Makes 1 standard loaf