Delish Pumpkin Bread with Pumpkin Butter Glaze

Say what?? Yeah, you heard right, my friend!

Alright folks. You need to know a few things about this recipe before you begin. First off, once you try this recipe your family will INSIST that you never try another again. My little brood are quite the little food critics and after several attempts at box pumpkin bread as well as a handful of recipes I set out to create the ultimate recipe. You'll see that this recipe calls for good ol' butter, and lots of it, along with healthy (or not) helping of sugar. My theory, if you're going to have something decadent like pumpkin bread, do it right. In theory, this should be called pumpkin cake but "bread" sounds far less naughty. Bread with frosting you say? Let's call it "glaze" for the aforementioned reason just stated. 
Okay...let's get to it. 

Delish Pumpkin Bread

 with Pumpkin Butter Glaze 

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon 
1 tsp ground nutmeg (I actually grind whole cloves because I think it makes a huge difference but don't let this step stress you out of you're not up for that.)
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup of butter (2 sticks, almost melted)
3 large eggs
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 15 oz can of pure pumpkin


Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbs of pumpkin butter (look for this near the apple butter...if you can't find it, leave it out and increase the amount of milk used)
2-3 Tbs milk 

Here's what you do:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray two loaf pans (I use a 'normal' size loaf pan and a long skinny one...just to keep life interesting)with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, mix dry ingredients (minus granulated sugar).
3. Add sugar to your mixing bowl (if using a stand mixer, use the whisk attachment) followed by almost melted butter. We don't have a microwave (crazy, I know. AND it's by choice...we're nuts!) so I set my butter outside in the sun like a pioneer woman might do until its almost melted. If you have a microwave, you can pop it in that badboy for about 30 seconds. Next add the eggs. Cream these together on medium speed for a couple minutes until fluffy, scraping the sides when necessary. Add the vanilla and canned pumpkin. Combine well. 
4. Add the dry ingredients in two or three batches and mix gently until incorporated. If using a mixer, don't go nuts, keep it on low speed. Or, find a big wooden spoon and mix it up pioneer style. 
5. Pour half the batter in each pan. Bake for about an hour until the top is golden and a knife comes out clean when poked in the middle. 

To make glaze:
Mix powdered sugar and pumpkin butter. Add a tablespoon at a time of milk until you reach your desired consistency. Add more milk for a glaze and less for more of a frosting. You can cover the top with the glaze/frosting/yumminess or you can add it as you serve it. This is what we do because it's so fun to hear my kids fight over who got more glaze, the bigger piece...etc. Actually, they really enjoy watching me prep their plate. :)

ENJOY!!

          Some step-by-step photos for you!

I use this nifty little grinder I won at a Pampered Chef party ages ago to grind the whole nutmeg down to a aromatic powder. Yum!

So your butter should look something like this. You don't want it to completely fall apart but it needs to be on the verge of losing it's.....shape. Kind of like me when I've had a really long day. 

Nice a fluffy!

Keepin' it interesting. 

......and life just got better!