Puckey Bed

Puckey Bed (translation: Pumpkin Bread) is one of Barrett's favorites. John gets it at Starbucks for the kids and it's a big, special treat. Since we've been getting up at 5am lately, I figured I had  time to make a nice homemade batch of Puckey Bed for breakfast. Big hit! And, the house smelled so good.

It brought back so many fond memories for me. My mom and grandma are excellent bakers. The tins actually came from my grandma, the recipe from my mom. I always grew up with something in the house--cookies, brownies, pumpkin bread, banana bread--it wasn't even that much of a special treat. Now baked goodies are one of the few things I can actually say NO to. Anyway, everything could be found in one place: the microwave. Don't ask. For some reason, that seemed like a perfectly normal place to keep yummy baked goods.

A while ago my uncle put together a Samuelson Cookbook with everyone's favorite special recipes. It is one of my prized possessions. I have all my childhood memories bound together with a roadmap for how to create deliciousness for my kids.

Since the Pumpkin Bread is one of my favorites, I thought I'd share our Samuelson version.
(Probably not all that different but it's my favorite pumpkin bread. And that includes you, Starbucks!)


Pumpkin Bread
by Sue Blue
Makes 8 Servings

3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1 can pumpkin (16 oz)
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (I didn't use this)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
2/3 cup water
1 cup walnuts, pecans chopped (I didn't do this either)

Preheat oven to 350. Using a mixer, combine sugar, oil and eggs. Beat until fluffy. Stir in pumpkin. Combine dry ingredients and stir into pumpkin mixture. Add water and nuts, mixing well. Spoon into 2 well greased 9x5x3 loaf pans (or 4 smaller pans). Bake at 350 for 65-75 minutes.