Spiced Pumpkin-Hazelnut Bread

Diane's Recipes

Makes Two 4-by-8-inch Loaves

I love the smell of bread baking in my kitchen, and this recipe has a particularly wonderful fragrance. Toasted hazelnuts add just the right flavor to this orange-scented bread. If you can't find hazelnuts, sliced almonds are a good alternative.

Offer small slices of this quick bread accompanied by orange-honey butter and a hot cup of tea on a cool afternoon. If you're wondering why this recipe makes two loaves, look in the dessert chapter.  There you'll find Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Eggnog Brandy Sauce, a sublime ending to any cold-weather meal, which uses the second loaf.

1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs  
1 teaspoon finely chopped orange zest
1/2 cup fresh orange juice  
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice or 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup golden raisins

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease and flour two 4-by-8-inch loaf pans. Place the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and bake for 5 to 7 minutes or until lightly browned. Reserve.

In a large bowl, cream the butter with the sugars using an electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add the eggs, orange zest, orange juice, and pumpkin and blend well on low speed.

Combine the dry ingredients and add them to the mixture on low speed, mixing until well blended. Do not overmix. Add the raisins and hazelnuts and mix just enough to combine.

Transfer the mixture into the loaf pans evenly and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan at for least 15 minutes and then turn the bread out onto a cooling rack.

Advance Preparation
This bread tastes best on the day it's baked. It freezes well wrapped in foil for up to 2 months.

Keywords: spice, pumpkin, hazelnut, bread, pumpkin bread

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