Monthly Archives: September 2015

PUMPKIN BUTTER

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Welcome to day 28 of Tag Sale Tastes’ Pumpkinpalooza!

If you’re a fan of all things pumpkin spice, then you’ll love pumpkin butter.  Pumpkin butter is a silky spread made of pumpkin, sugar, spices, and a touch of lemon juice — none of the artificial flavors and other suspect ingredients found in many of the other pumpkin spice products I’ve sampled this month.  Two brands that I like are Kozlowski Farms and McCutcheon’s (I understand Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Butter is popular as well):

This stuff is autumn in a jar.  There are lots of ways to use it — swirl it into smoothies, fold it inside crepes, or make a great dip to serve with gingersnaps, for example. Because it’s pretty heavily spiced, a little goes a long way.   Perhaps one of the simplest and tastiest uses for pumpkin butter is simply to spread it on toast, or perhaps a pumpkin spice English muffin, on top of a little cream cheese or butter:

Mmmmm — what a great way to start your morning.

Rating:  5 pumpkins (out of 5)

 

SUR LA TABLE BUTTERMILK ALMOND PUMPKIN SPICE QUICK BREAD

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Welcome to day 27 of Tag Sale Tastes’ Pumpkinpalooza!

Today I baked up a loaf of Sur La Table’s Buttermilk Almond Pumpkin Spice Quick Bread, that was sent to me by my friend Karen.

IMG_6920Not being a huge fan of mixes (with the notable exception of Ghirardelli Brownie Mix), I was skeptical.  I did, however, like that the ingredients were things I would find in my own pantry, and included pumpkin (oh, thank heavens) and ginger.

IMG_6921The box contained a pouch of dry ingredients, to which you add eggs, butter, and buttermilk:

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It took just a few minutes to get this ready to go into the oven.  The batter had a nice orange color from the pumpkin:

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The bread smelled wonderful as it baked, and the family (and the dogs) couldn’t wait for it to come out of the oven.  I followed the package directions exactly, and the loaf baked up perfectly:

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Here it is, in all its orange-brown glory:

IMG_6930After waiting for what seemed like forever for it cool, we cut a few slices:

IMG_6931My friend Karen dared me not to like this pumpkin spice bread.  Well, she easily won that dare.  This pumpkin bread was delicious — dense, moist from the buttermilk, and fragrant from the spices.  We couldn’t stop nibbling away at it, and kept going back to slice off yet another sliver.  I was genuinely surprised at how good it was.  Believe me — this could easily pass for homemade-from-scratch.  The hint of almond complemented the other flavors nicely.  In fact, I think I’m going to start adding a touch of almond extract to my own pumpkin bread recipe.

Grab a box or two while they last and surprise your family/friends/coworkers this fall with “homemade” pumpkin bread.  It’ll be our secret.  Thanks Karen, for this superstar of pumpkin spice products.

Rating:  5 pumpkins (out of 5)