Not your Mother's Pumpkin Bread Recipe

This came courtesy of Beverly Bundy, Food Editor at the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram. I made walnut mini-loaves to use in my Christmas Gift Baskets, and only baked for 20-25 minutes. Let stand overnight before eating, they taste better. I found the walnut oil at Williams-Sonoma for $10 for a 12 oz bottle. Later, I also saw it at the Super Target for $4.49 for a 12 oz bottle.

This adult version of pumpkin bread uses sherry, and is not as sweet. It also has more subtle spicing. Nut oil, either walnut or hazelnut,adds heady flavor; it's sold at specialty stores and some supermarkets. You can use less expensive sunflower oil, but the taste will be more neutral. This is a big recipe, and the batter will nearly fill a large mixing bowl. Expect splatters while mixing.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine sugars, pumpkin, eggs and oil in large bowl of electric mixer. Beat 1 minute. Combine flour, baking soda, spices and salt in another bowl. Combine wet and dry mixtures; beat until smooth. Stir in cream sherry. Beat until thoroughly blended, 1-2 minutes. Mix in nuts. Scrape batter into 3 greased 8-by-4-inch loaf pans, filling each no more than three-quarters full. Bake until tester inserted into each center comes out clean, about 65 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes in pans; turn out onto rack to cool completely. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap; let set at room temperature overnight. The loaves can be kept at room temperature for as long as 4 days, or frozen.

Nutrition information per serving: Calories 285 Fat 12 g Sat. fat 1.2 g Cal./fat 37% Chol. 30 mg Sodium 215 mg Carb. 40 g Protein 4.7 g Fiber 1.7 g