Cozy up for fall this year and celebrate the season with this easy cinnamon pecan streusel pumpkin bread recipe. You won’t believe how good it makes your house smell!
A simple treat, totally from scratch, that will make you feel like Pioneer Woman herself 😉 Don’t skip the classic fall quick bread this year – for Halloween, Thanksgiving or just because! Makes two loaves, so you’ll have one as a cozy homemade gift idea.
I have a thing for pumpkin goodies for cozy autumn weekend brunches.
And I know you do, too. Because the pumpkin waffles here in the Savory Nothings archives? They make the site explode each fall.
Just imagine a crisp morning, leaves golden and red in the trees, and you’re serving up hot apple cider and a few warm slices of pumpkin bread.
Get out the flannel shirts and cozy blankets, I say!
I always feel like I celebrate the seasons way too little with my kids, so this year I’m making a point being intentional about it.
I’ll focus on little things but I’ll make sure to be crossing them off my autumn bucket list.
And one of them? Is to have cozy weekend brunches. Yes, we’ll have pumpkin pancakes. We’ll probably have pumpkin french toast, too.
And don’t judge if we have pumpkin pie cookies at some point. Fall only comes once a year and it IS my favorite season – so I’m not letting it slip away this year.
If you ever struggle with feeling guilty over not doing all the fun seasonal activities on Pinterest, take a step back this year and simplify your goals for autumn.
Pick one thing you’ll have as a little “tradition” all season long and one small other thing you want to do every week. And yes, that can be “walk to the corner store and pick up a few colorful leaves on the way”.
I bet your kids will be more excited about a special trip to the store than they will be about a stressed and guilt-ridden mom all season (or year?) long <3
For us, the cozy weekend mornings will be our little “tradition” and I’m sure this golden-orange bread will be the star of the show more than once.
Tips for pumpkin bread baking:
They mean it when they say “do not overmix”
It’s true. This is no cake where the ingredients need to be creamed together to be smooth.
And in baked goods with lots of heavy moisture (aka pumpkin puree, mashed banana, applesauce and the like) it’s even more important to pay attention to this warning, because the bread will otherwise turn out heavy and almost gummy.
What if I don’t have pumpkin spice mix?
First of all: Why not?
All kidding aside, I know I run out of spices all the time and then forget to re-stock. It’s a pretty safe bet to add some cinnamon. And if you have ground ginger, nutmeg or cloves at home, you should add some of these, too.
The streusel is a work of art
I know I sound like a broken record, but I have to say this every time I share a recipe that involves a streusel topping in any way: Chill. Your. Streusel.
Don’t use melted butter, use butter cold from the fridge.
Don’t use margarine or buttery spread or anything but stick butter (the texture will change with other spreads).
Make the streusel before you make the bread batter, then chill it in the fridge until you’re ready. It will have a far nicer crunch and hold its shape better that way. I promise it’s worth following a few recipe rules.
By the way, I got the idea to add streusel to pumpkin bread from all your love for the cinnamon crunch banana bread I shared earlier this year – I knew I couldn’t leave you hanging without making you the cozy pumpkin edition, too 😉
Get the printable pumpkin bread recipe:
Ingredients
For the streusel
- 2/3 cup flour
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
- 1/4 cup cold butter
For the pumpkin bread
- 2-1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1.5 cups white sugar
- 15- oz. can pumpkin
- 1/2 cup melted butter
Instructions
Make the streusel:
- Stir together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and chopped nuts in a medium bowl. Add the butter and crumble it into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until there are no more flecks of dry flour and small crumbs form. Cover and refrigerate.
Make the pumpkin bread:
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease and line two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
- Stir together flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
- Whisk eggs, sugar, pumpkin and melted butter together in a measuring jug. Pour the wet into the dry ingredients and fold in just until combined, do not overmix!
- Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf tins and evenly sprinkle with the chilled streusel. Bake at 350°F for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing the breads onto a wire rack to cool completely.