I love making quick breads! They are (obviously) quick, delicious and perfect for breakfast and snacks. It seems like I always have bananas on my kitchen counter too. I make my go to Banana Bread recipe quite often and my family loves it. Ever since I was little, Banana Bread has always made an appearance on our family’s Thanksgiving table. It’s a favorite for all of the children and this year, in addition that yummy recipe, I’m adding this delicious Pumpkin & Banana Pecan Bread!
Creamy pureed pumpkin is mixed with mashed ripe bananas, warm cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and clove along with freshly chopped pecans for a tasty, moist bread that’s perfect with your cup of coffee in the morning!
For added flavor and crunch, this yummy bread is topped with cinnamon and sugar coated pecans for beautiful presentation too!
This simple quick bread is freezer friendly, so I get busy making it a week or so before Thanksgiving. If I can cross some items off my Thanksgiving to do list ahead of time, that helps me a lot and I find that I am able to enjoy the rest of my holiday kitchen prep work without rushing around.
The night before Thanksgiving, I just take this out of the freezer and it’s ready to slice in the morning. It makes a wonderful breakfast for the whole family while you spend some time together watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade!
I have such wonderful memories from my childhood of waking up to my mother busy cooking away in the kitchen and the smell of a savory stuffed turkey baking away in the oven.
Now that I have a family of my own, I want them to experience the comforts of home on Thanksgiving morning and a simple, but special breakfast treat before the day begins.
This bread of course is great any time of the year, but if you love pumpkin for Thanksgiving, give this recipe a try! I think you’ll love it! It also makes a beautiful and thoughtful hostess gift wrapped in clear cellophane tied with twine and a sweet note! Enjoy!
Ingredients
- For The Bread:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 egg whites
- 3 very ripe large bananas, mashed
- 1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. ginger
- 1/8 tsp. cloves
- 3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1-1 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans
- For The Topping: (optional)
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped pecans
- 2 Tbsp. melted butter
- 1 Tbsp. sugar
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- In your Kitchen Aid mixer, cream the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and egg whites, one at a time combining well after each addition.
- In a separate bowl, mash the bananas and combine them with the pumpkin puree and the spices.
- Mix well.
- Add the banana/pumpkin mixture to the batter and combine.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients alternating with the buttermilk until the bread batter is combined.
- Add your finely chopped pecans and mix until incorporated.
- Lightly grease 2 large (5" x 10") loaf pans and pour the batter evenly into the pans.
- In a small bowl combine your topping ingredients and spoon evenly onto the tops of the loaves.
- Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the loaves comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let cool in the pans for 10 minutes or so.
- Remove from the pans and let the loaves finish cooling on a cooling rack.
- Serve warm or room temperature.
- Makes 2 large loaves.
- *To freeze- let the loaves cool completely, wrap in plastic wrap and store in a freezer safe container or plastic bag.
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This bread looks delicious! Could I use 9″ x 5″ loaf pans for this recipe? Don’t have the 10″ x 5″ size. Thank you!